Expect the Unexpected
by Emjezz
Summary: This is a story about Hermione and George. It starts after Hermione finishes her 7th year at Hogwarts and returns to the Burrow. Have fun xD
1. Chapter 01

**Hey everyone.** This is going to be my second version of "Expect the unexpected". I already posted about ten (or so) chapters but although I liked the plot I did NOT like the way in which I've been writing. Many of you have said that the constant changing of the point of view was confusing and, to be honest, I started to get confused by it too. :D That's why I'm currently rewriting the chapters I've already written and posted before but since I'm not only changing the point of view but a wee bit of the context too you might still want to re-read it before I reach later chapters (you haven't read yet at all). I'm also sorry for not posting in such a long time but you know how it can be...school and stuff is sometimes just too much :D but I'll try to post more regularly now.

**For those of you who haven't read the old version**; I'd just like to say that this is another marriage law fanfiction. If you don't like that, just don't read it I won't be sad or something like that xD It starts about one year after the final battle aaaaand Fred is still alive because I could simply NEVER kill him. Another thing I should maybe mention is that I do not like Ron thaaaaaat much and those who have read this before can tell you that I'm not particularly trying to hide that fact. :D Ron is actually going to be quite a git, at least in the first chapters,...that might very well change later but I'll handle that on my was :D If you're a Ron fan, that's totally okay :) just ask yourself if you can manage reading about him being a complete git or not. Again, I'm not angry if you don't read the story because of that, just don't start whining or getting all worked up because you don't like the way I portray him,...you've been warned ;)

**~Emjezz xD**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_"But he never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand. Next moment, he had walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother."_

- The Prisoner of Askaban-

* * *

Hermione was looking out of the window of her compartment on the Hogwarts Express.

She was watching the landscape they were passing thoughtfully. She still couldn't believe that this

was it. The end. She had just finished her last year of school. After the war, she'd decided to come

back with Ginny and Luna in order to finish her seventh year. She was happy that she'd passed all

her courses with flying colours and that a complete new part of her life was right in front of her but she was sad as well. She'd never return to Hogwarts, at least not as a student. It was a strange feeling but a normal one nevertheless. 'Normal...' she thought and grinned. Normal was something you couldn't describe her first six years at school as.

She smiled at the thought of how much had changed since the final battle and Voldemorts death. In the first months everyone had helped to rebuild the wizarding world that had suffered so much under Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Obviously, she had not been involved in the rebuilding of places like the Ministry of Magic or Diagon Alley, but she had experienced first hand how hard it was because she had helped reconstructing the Burrow and Shell Cottage.

She sighted when she remembered how Harry had told her how much damage the Death Eaters had caused in the Wizarding World. He and Ron had not returned to Horgwarts in order to finish their seventh year. Instead, they had accepted Kingsleys offer of starting auror training without their NEWTS.

Hermione had never admitted it to anyone, but she had missed her two best friends. Hogwarts was wonderful and it still kept surprising her after seven years but it hadn't been the same without Harry and Ron.

The fact that Hermione and Ron had started dating after the final battle had not made things easier for her.

She frowned at the thought of her boyfriend. She had had a crush on him ever since her second year at Hogwarts and she had been on top of the world when they finally (after FIVE years!) started dating, but that enthusiasm had died rather quickly. She had dreamed about dating Ron for years and when she finally did she'd found out that it wasn't in any way what she had expected it to be like. Granted, she had never had a boyfriend before Ron so she wasn't able to compare it to one of her other relationships but sometimes it just didn't seem to be enough.

In the beginning, everything had seemed to be perfect. They had spent their free time during the summer at the nearest lake with Ginny and Harry and simply enjoyed being alive. By the time Ginny and her had to return to school she had been very upset because she wouldn't be able to see Ron as often as she wanted to.

Ron, though, had told her not to be sad because he would visit her on every Hogsmeade weekend and would write to her regularly.

She'd left for Hogwarts, feeling much better. She was confident, that the separation wouldn't change of influence their relationship at all.

Well,...let's just say even a Hermione Granger is wrong from time to time.

In the first few weeks she had still received owls from Ron regularly, but soon she got less and less.

When she'd asked Ron about it openly he'd said that he was very busy with his auror training and that he felt really bad about not being able to write more often.

Naive and in love as she was, she'd believed him without even thinking about it. She wasn't even getting confused because of the fact that Harry, who had as much on his hands as Ron, apparently DIDN'T have any difficulty with sending Ginny an owl every single day. She just told herself that Ron wasn't Harry and was convinced that the fact that he wrote less and less or that he visited her less and less didn't mean that he didn't love her, but that he was simply different than Harry and that he couldn't show his feelings as easily.

But still...sometimes she caught herself wondering if her relationship with Ron was really how it was supposed to be.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Ginny's voice. She turned away from the window and looked at the red head next to her.

"Hermione? 'You still with us?" she asked and laughed. With 'us' she meant herself and Luna.

"Yeah', sure..." Hermione answered and smiled and Ginny and Luna. "I'm sorry. ...I was just thinking about something."

Ginny frowned. "Thinking? Not about that bloody brother of mine again I hope!" Hermione blushed.

Ginny had gotten more and more angry with her brother over the last year because she thought, that he didn't treat Hermione in the way she deserved to be treated.

Hermione had tried to explain to her that Ron didn't men anything bad by it and that it was okay, but she didn't believe her. Maybe because Hermione, secretly, didn't believe it herself. At least not 100 percent.

Hermione smiled shyly. "Yes if you MUST know I was thinking about him."

Ginny frowned again. "You know you really shouldn't think about him that much. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's my brother and I love him and all that but you are one of my best friends and I can't keep watching him treating you like trash and acting like the biggest git on earth. I'm sorry but I just don't think he's worth your time anymore."

Hermione sighted.

"I know he hasn't been the best boyfriend bu-..." she started but Ginny interrupted her, not angry.

"NOT THE BEST? HERMIONE HE'S PRACTICALLY BEEN IGNORING YOU INCE SEPTEMBER AND YOU SAY HE 'HASN'T BEEN THE BEST BOYFRIEND'?"

Hermione was shocked. Not because she wasn't used to Weasley-outbursts, but because she honestly didn't know what to say. She was utterly confused, because on the one hand she knew that Ginny was right. She knew that she had always thought that something was missing in her relationship with Ron, something important.

But on the other hand, Hermione didn't want Ginny to be right. She didn't want to admit that her relationship with Ron actually WASN'T a real relationship. She didn't want to admit that the first guy who had wanted to be with her wasn't treating her the way she deserved. She didn't want to admit that maybe, dating Ron had been a mistake from the beginning because they just weren't meant to be together.

Admitting all these things would mean that she would have to consider her feelings for Ron, if she really loved him or if she'd just done what everyone had expected her to do: date Ron Weasley. It would also mean that she'd have to admit that Ron wasn't the person she'd thought he'd be.

And because she didn't want all those things to hurt her, she did the only logical thing. She denied it in order to protect herself.

"Ginny..." she finally said. "don't you think you're a little bit unfair? I mean you can't expect everyone to be as charming and perfect as Harry is."

Ginny laughed and looked at Hermione knowingly. "Hermione...I never said that I expected everyone to be as amazing as Harry is." She smiled absently and it was obvious that she was thinking about Harry. You could always tell when they ere thinking bout each other by the appalling, intense, loving look on their faces.

"What I'm trying to tell you is that, as much as I love Ron he's NOT treating you the way he should. I know that you keep telling yourself that he's only doing that because he's not able to show you his true feelings towards you and that her didn't have enough time to write and to visit you but I know that that's not true. And you know that as well." She looked at Hermione concerned as if she expected her to either get angry or break down.

She continued. "I mean I really HATE to compare him to Harry, but Harry WAS able to write quite often. Harry COULD make it to Hogsmeade. Seriously Hermione he didn't even send you something for Valentines Day!"

Hermione desperately tried to swallow the knot in her throat that was growing bigger and bigger with every word Ginny had said.

Ginny looked at Luna who had been watching their exchange absently. "YOU agree with me Luna, don't you?"

"Weeeeeell,..." he started with her usual light singing voice. "You know I've always thought that Ronald is always a bit to harsh. Remember your sixth year? He kept making you cry.."

Hermione was now desperately trying to blink away the tears that were starting to build up in her eyes.

Crying would only underline what Luna had just said.

"You don't understand.." Hermione started and looked at Luna "That was in our sixth year. We weren't dating back then." She turned around to look at Ginny.

"A-And he didn't give me anything for Valentines Day because he forgot about it I-I told you I didn't mind"

Ginny looked at her for a moment and you could see both, anger and sympathy in her eyes. When she finally spoke her voice was gentle. "Hermione I know you weren't dating back then but he was in love with you and what did he do? He hooked up with Lavender to make you jealous! He KNEW how much he hurt you and he still didn't stop!

What guy does that?" She sighted. "You can tell me what you want but he's been acting like a git and I think he's even been taking you for granted. Like I said I don't expect him to be like Harry or...or Bill I don't say that he has to follow you like puppy. Just think about it...how often did he write last year? Twice a month? How often did he visit you? Once? Twice? Hermione, I know that if you listen to your heart, you'll know that what I'm saying is the truth.

And I know that it hurts, but I think it's time for you to realize what's been going on for the last months and..."

"...AND WHAT?" Hermione interrupted he, now angry. She knew that Ginny was right but she wouldn't admit that. Not to Ginny, not to Luna, not even to herself.

"AND BREK UP WITH HIM? Ginny I know he didn't act perfectly but I love him and I know that he loves me too. I know I didn't see him all that much but WHEN I did it was awesome! And now that I've graduated we can..."

"You can what?" Now it was Ginny who sounded angry.

"What do you expect to happen now Hermione?"

"Well.." Hermione answered in a harsh tone "..if you think he doesn't love me and care about me that much why do you think he hasn't broken up with me ... why do you recon is he still with me?"

Hermione realized that Ginny didn't deserve such a harsh tone because she only wanted to help but right then, she didn't particularly care.

Ginny snorted loudly.

"You honestly don't know? Wow..now THAT'S first. Hermione Granger doesn't know an answer..."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked but Ginny only snorted again and looked at Hermione angrily.

"I think..." Luna's voice came from the seat opposite to Ginny's "I think she means that Ron's only dating you because he wants to shag you."

Hermione's head snapped towards Ginny and her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it.

"Do you really think that?" Hermione asked her sharply.

She expected Ginny to flinch but of course, being Ginny, she didn't. She just looked at Hermione for a long time before saying: "Yes Hermione, that' what I'm thinking!"

Hermione was speechless. Ginny Weasley, her best friend besides Harry and Ron honestly thought that Ron was only dating her because he wanted to shag her. Hermione shook her head in disappointment.

"Well.." she replied, her voice trembling.

Ginny looked at her, waiting for her to continue but Hermione realized that she didn't even know what to say. She was shocked and simply speechless. Not because of the possibility that Ron was only in for a shag. She knew that that wasn't true. She was shocked because one of her best friend would even consider her own brother to be capable of acting that way. She turned around in her seat and stared out of the window again, hoping that they would arrive in London soon.

She just wanted to get away from Ginny as soon as possible.


	2. Chapter 02

Here we go, chapter two. I really hope you still like it as much as you did before  
Pleeease review xD  
~Emjezz xD

"Harry!" said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy-"  
"Marvelous," said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Harry's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing."

The Prisoner of Askaban-

**Chapter 2**

„Georgie, you're done back there?"

Fred's voice came from the sales room of their shop. It was half past six in the evening and they had just closed the shop about half an hour ago.

Normally, they didn't close it until 8pm, but it was a Saturday and, well…as awesome as it was to work with joke articles and stuff all day long, even the famous Weasley twins wanted to have some leisure from time to time and the fact that Ginny had just returned from her final year at Hogwarts was a good excuse to close the shop early.

He finished organizing the ingredients he had used during their lunch break and closed and sealed the door of their working room behind him. He joined Fred who was waiting for me behind the cashier.

"Yeah, I'm done mate. Did you put up the wards?" he asked him.

Their mother had invited the entire family over for dinner. She never missed the possibility to feed the entire family, and friends for that matter, and the fact that her only daughter had just graduated was pushing her up even more.

"Sure!" Fred answered and with a smirk and a twist they both disapparated to the Burrow.

When they entered the Burrow they found Bill, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Harry and their dad sitting on the sofas in the living room.

"Hey guys!" They both greeted them, grinning. They moved towards the sofas to shake hands, clap on shoulders and to sit down next to them.

"So…" George said, looking at them expectantly. "…any news?"

Percy immediately jumped at the opportunity to share his, in George's opinion rather boring, life with everyone who wanted (or in this case didn't) to hear about it.

"Yes indeed, there are!" He said, adjusting his glasses. "I was just about to tell the others about my day at work. There are rumours about-"

"I think George here wanted to know if there were any INTERRESTING news, Perce!" Charlie interrupted him, grinning broadly. The others chuckled, even dad.

But Percy turned towards Charlie, glaring at him. "The news I have to share are indeed very interesting Charlie! I happen to be in a very important position, being undersecretary of the minister, and that means that I am always one of the first people to-" This time Bill interrupted him. "It's alright Percy. You don't have to get offended. Charlie was only messing with you!" George was impressed by the earnestness in his voice, but when he continued you could see a smirk building up in the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure you're news are very interesting but uhm…" you could see he was desperately searching for a way to avoid being lectured about ministry business endlessly. "…but wouldn't you say that important news like that shouldn't be spread outside the ministry?" George grinned at Fred beside him. This was going to work…Bill had always been the one who could handle Percy. As expected, Percy took the bait at once.

"Yes, yes…you're quite right there Bill! Didn't intend on sharing anything anyway. I was just trying to make clear, that the ministry business is indeed very important and also quite interesting."

"It's alright son!" dad said, smiling at Percy. "Why don't we just let this go….Fred, George… how's the shop going? 'Everything all right?"

They started telling him about everything that had been going on since the last time they'd all been together, which to be honest had only been a week ago since their mum always tried to set up weekly-lunches on Sundays.

Fred had just finished telling them about the new candy they were trying to invent, when Ginny came into the sitting room. She spotted the twins and let out a squeal.

"Guuuyyys!" she shouted and ran towards the sofa they were sitting on in order to hug them. George smiled and rubbed her back. She'd always been their favourite sibling.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd arrived?" She asked and shot a dark look at Charlie who just grinned back at her. "I told you to get me when they're here!" She squeezed in between the twins and flung her arms around them, smiling happily.

"Looks like someone is glad to see her favourite brothers again, eh Gred?" George said nudging her playfully. "Sure she is Forge…we're awesome! Who wouldn't just LOVE to see us?" The others laughed.

"Well…I've gotta give you this guys…it was quite boring without your pranks from time to time!" she replied, smiling at us.

"So Gin…" Fred started and one look at the mischievous grin on his face was enough to tell George what he was going to say. George sniggered and grinned at him.

Fred winked at him and continued.

"Gin…any changes in your love life? Any guy you're seeing?" Of course everyone knew that she'd started dating Harry again about a year ago but that didn't mean that they couldn't tease the two of them. If she'd date any other guy than Harry they would have been a whole lot worse. They were quite protective of her. Any other guy would have to go through hell in order to date their little sister, because they thought that nobody…NOBODY was good enough for her.

With Harry though, it was different. Nobody couldn't overlook the expression on his face every time he looked at her or talked to her. Nobody could not see the way Ginny's face lit up every time his name was mentioned. They were in love with each other.

Harry's head shot up and he frowned at Fred. But Ginny just snorted with laughter.

She hustled Fred while Percy was shaking his head disapprovingly. George was just about to make a comment when Hermione entered the living room.

He'd been wondering if she'd come back to the Burrow too. Not that he was thinking about her very much, he was just wondering if she'd be staying at the Burrow or at her parents' house.

"Hey George, hey Fred!" she greeted them. Then she turned towards their dad. "Mrs. Weasley sent me to tell you that dinner's ready, Mr. Weasley!"

"Hermione.." he said shaking his head "How often have I told you to call me Arthur? I'm certain Molly would prefer her first name either. We've known you for years now. Even Harry managed." Hermione blushed.

"Yeah 'mione!" George added, laughing. "You don't call us Mr. Weasley, do you?"

"Right Forge, … although if you come to think about it…" Fred said with a mock-concerned look on his face "…I don't know why you never did!"

Hermione straightened up and shot a glare at them, but the corners of her mouth were twitching. Then she turned towards their dad again. "Okay so…ARTHUR, Molly send me to tell you guys that dinner is ready." Dad beamed at her. "Alright! Let's go then shall we…" and he stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

When they entered the kitchen their mum pulled thrm into one of her tight hugs immediately and pushed them towards the table. "Sit, sit…eat, eat!" was all she could manage before she rushed off towards the stove again.

George sat down between Fred and Bill and started serving himself dinner.

About twenty minutes later everyone was busy eating and chattering.

To his right Bill was listening to Fleur, who was now about eight months pregnant and obviously frustrated about it. "I cannot zait for zis to be 'overr! Zis is simply 'orrible." she complained to Georges mum who was sitting next to her smiling brightly.

Their mum is absolutely crazy about getting her first grand child.

But Fleur just continued beefing. From the corner of my eye George saw Ginny and Hermione look annoyed. He laughed silently. They had never particularly liked Fleur.

"MERDE!" Fleur suddenly exclaimed loudly and everyone stopped their conversation to look at her. She had dropped her fork and was now having difficulty to reach it because her stomach was too big. "C'est horrible! Je suis une vache ! Une vache quelle est très … boulotte ! »

Ten pairs of eyes (including George) stared at her confused and, to be honest, quite shocked.

But Bill just smiled at her, picked up the fork and handed it to her. He then leaned forward and started whispering in her ear. After a minute she started to smile too and nodded. Bill was the only one who could speak French, ( could come in quite handy if you're married to a French half Veela who has a temper like a little hurricane) and apparently he had said just the right thing to calm her down.

She kissed him on the cheek and turned towards the rest of them. "I am terriblyyy sorry for my outburst! It's just…verrry ex'austingg!"

Their mum smiled at her knowingly and started a conversation about babies George was NOT interested in.

He was just about to take another bite of his pie when Fred nudged him slightly.

"Hey…have you noticed Gin and 'mione?" George looked at him, confused.

"What about them?" – "Well…they've been behaving quite weird haven't they? Normally, they're practically inseparable, laughing and chatting all the time and now they aren't even talking to each other."

He looked around the table. Fred was right. They were sitting as far away from each other. They were both engaged in conversations with either Ron or Harry but they would continuously glare at each other without saying anything.

"That's weird…." George answered. "What do you think's going on?"

Fred shrugged "Don't know…but whatever it is, it HAS to be serious, doesn't it? I mean this is Gin and Hermione were talking about. They NEVER fight."

They decided to shake Ginny down later and went back to their dessert.

"So Gin…." George started, looking at her expectantly. It was about nine o'clock and she, Harry, Charlie, Fred and George were sitting around the table in the garden behind the house. Bill and Fleur had already returned to Shell Cottage because Fleur had been exausted, their mum and dad were somewhere inside the house, Percy had flooed to his place because he had "important work to do" and Ron and Hermione had disappeared into the dark.

George took a sip from his bottle of fire whiskey and looked at her.

"What's going on with you and Hermione?" Whatever she'd expected him to ask, it obviously hadn't been this. Her face changed from surprise, to shock, to embarrassment and finally to anger.

"That's none of your bloody business!" she answered. Next to her, Harry shifted in his chair with a concerned expression on his face. '_Of course…of course she'd tell HIM what was going on…' _George thought, frowning slightly.

"Gin!" Fred stepped in before she could say more. "We're just confused, that's all. You two are best friends. You never fight. And now you look at each other as if you'd be ready to go for each others throat!"

"He's right you know…" Charlie said. "I mean I know it's your business and all that, but you know you can talk to us."

Ginny sighted and leaned back. "I know I know…you're just trying to help me." She smiled when Harry took her hand in his and started to run over the back of it in small, comforting circles.

"It's-it's just…urgh! She's just such an IDIOT!"

That made everyone laugh. "And how's that?" George asked, still shaking.

"Well…" she started, obviously not sure if she should share or not. "She….I….I think she's making a mistake!" she finally said. Harry looked at his feet.

George realized that this must be quite difficult for him. Hermione was his best friend. Ginny was the one he was in love with.

"Mistake?" Fred's voice interrupted Georges thoughts. "What kind of mistake?"

Ginny snorted. "Ron!" '_Well…that DOES make sense.'_ George had never understood why she was with him. Of course, he was his brother and he loved him and all that, but he had seriously never known what she saw in him.

And apparently he wasn't the only one.

"Big surprise…" Fred laughed. "What has he done this time?" On the other side of the table Harry was shifting in his char again. Not looking at anyone.

George realised that this was even worse. The poor guys was practically sitting between three chairs.

"Ehrrrmmm…" Ginny answered. "I- …" she seemed to consider things for a minute.

"Okay I'll tell you, but you have to PROMISE not to tell anyone about it. Especially not Hermione... or Ron for that matter."

"Sure…" they all promised. Now George was getting curious. What could Ron do to make her THAT angry. And what did Hermione do?

"I…I told Hermione that I think that Ron's only with her because he wants to shag her."

"You did WHAT?" Charlie and Fred exclaimed and George simply stared at her with huge eyes.

"Well don't you all think that's true?" she asked them sternly. "I mean he treats her like trash. He hardly ever wrote her or visited her throughout the entire last school year. He kept saying that he was too busy with his training." At that, Harry frowned.

George knew that Harry had been able to do both, write regularly and visit Ginny on all the Hogsmeade weekends so Ron was obviously lying. Fred seemed to agree with his twin. "Doesn't really surprise me. He HAS always been the biggest idiot of us. Besides Percy that is…"

"Come on guys, be fair." Charlie said. "That doesn't mean that he's only in it for a shag. You don't know that. I don't think he'd do something like that. Maybe he just can't show his feelings that well…you know…not everyone can."  
George knew that he was clearly thinking about himself. Charlie was horrible at talking about feelings, but what could you expect from a guy that worked with dragons about 15hours a day?

George's thoughts were interrupted by Ginny's answer.

"That's what Hermione told me too. She also said that she didn't care that Ron wasn't acting differently but I simply KNOW that this isn't going to end well and I don't want her to-"

But she was interrupted when a loud bang sounded through the night.

They all had their wands out in seconds and looked around nervously in order to find the source of it. Seconds later Hermione came into sight, tears all over her face.

She rushed past them and into the Burrow and without hesitating Ginny stood up and followed her quickly.


	3. Chapter 03

Those of you who adore Ron,...you have been warned! xD

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**Chapter 3**

„Ronald!" Hermione said, laughing, while Ron pulled her with him out off the Burrow and into the darkness. They'd finished dinner about an hour ago and when Bill, Fleur and Percy had left he'd taken the momentarily chaos as an opportunity to pull her away from the others without them noticing.

He continued pulling her behind him until they reached a tree near the Weasley's broom shed. He sat down against the trunk, pulling her down into his lap.

She sat down and looked at him. "Someone's in a hurry!"

He grinned. "Well…I just wanted to be alone with you."

She smiled at him. He could be so sweet. "Did you? And why's that so?" She asked teasingly. He smirked and leaned towards her. "You'd like to know that…wouldn't you?" She grinned and nodded. Her heart started to race when he moved so close that his lips were nearly touching hers. "I guess I'll have to show you then." He mumbled against them. Hermione's heart pounded when he pressed his lips against hers and kissed her eagerly. He separated her lips with his and his tongue begged for entrance immediately. She granted it at once and moaned when their tongues touched.

Merlin, she had missed this! Her hands went into his hair and he drove his one hand to her back and the other to her cheek to caress it. They continued kissing feverishly for a few minutes until she had to bread the kiss in order to gasp for some air.

He looked at her, obviously quite please with himself and grinned. "Who's in a hurry?" He asked, snickering slightly. She rolled her eyes.

"We haven't done this often enough in the last year you know…"

she said, bringing her hand towards his forehead to push a few strands of hair out of his face. He simply nodded. "That's right. I'm sorry we didn't have more opportunities to.." she put her index finger over his lips in order to stop him from finishing the sentence. Reluctantly, her thoughts went to Ginny and what she had said earlier. Hermione knew she couldn't be right now. He was so sweet and it was obvious that he regretted not being able to see her more often. She smiled at him happily.

"It's okay….I mean I didn't like it, but it wasn't your fault you had to spend so much time in Auror training and the only important thing is that we're together now, isn't it?"

"Yeah, right…." he murmured and suddenly, voices and laughter filled the air. The others had apparently left the Burrow and where now somewhere in the garden. She sighted.

"Would you…would you like to go somewhere more private?" Ron asked, looking into the direction the voices were coming from.

Hermione thought about it. Did she?

She looked at him and nodded shyly. She did want to spend more time with him alone and the others would eventually find them here. "What did you have in mind?"

His eyes lit up and he smiled at her. He nodded towards the broom shed.

Not the most romantic place on earth, she thought, but better than being teased by Fred and George and she definitely didn't want to stop snogging him yet. It fell too good.

She nodded again and he pulled her up with him. They walked towards the broom shed, hand in hand.

When they entered the shed he closed the door behind them and pressed her against the wall at once. She was taken aback by his bluntness at first, but when his lips claimed hers again she fell nothing but joy and kissed him back passionately.

She ran her hands through his hair and pulled him closer. He groaned and pressed his body into hers. He pulled away from her mouth and started kissing the side of her neck. She shivered under his lips and fell how his hands ran up her sides.

She pulled his head up again and pressed her lips against his, separating his lips and teasing his tongue with hers. She fell amazing. Adrenaline was spreading through her body and she tightened her grip around his neck.

His hand, that had been caressing her neck slid down towards the collar of her blouse and before she even noticed it he had opened the first few buttons. She froze, hardly feeling his mouth running along her neck anymore.

She don't know when it happened, or how, but suddenly all the fogginess had left her brain and two realizations filled her mind. One; Ron was trying to undress her.

Two; She didn't want that. She grasped both of his hands and pushed him away slightly.

But Ron didn't seem to notice, freed his hands from hers absently and continued tugging at her blouse while kissed her cheek.

"Ron…." she said trying to push him away gently, but he didn't react.

"Ronald…." she tried to pull his hands away from her blouse, but she was still pressed in between him and the wall. She still wasn't completely sure why, but at that moment, being stuck between him and the wall, getting undressed slowly, she panicked. She gathered all her strength and pushed him away from her.

He stumbled back, taken by surprise and looked at her confused.

"What the hell Hermione?" he asked angrily.

She started to button up her blouse again. "I'm sorry, but you didn't listen!" she said lamely, somewhat ashamed, shocked and confused.

"Listened to what?" he asked, coming closer. She looked up at him. "I wanted you to stop and you didn't."

"You wanted me to stop what?" he asked, apparently still confused. Merlin….

"I wanted you to stop undressing me." She murmured.

He finally got it. "Why?" he just asked.

"Why?" That was a good question. Why did she want him to stop? Well to be honest, because she had only been on about two dates with him since September and she wasn't ready to go further. That's what she told him and she fell a stitch in her heart when the expression on his face didn't show understanding, but anger.

"'Mione….." he started breathing hard. "We've been dating for a year now and,…well…to be honest I think it's about time that we did something other than talking and snogging."

No….she couldn't have been…

"Like what?" she asked and was surprised at the sharpness of her voice. Later, she would know that, unconsciously, she had already known what was about to happen, but obviously, at that moment she didn't.

"Like shag?" she asked directly and was again taken aback by her sudden courage.

She silently wished that he'd say no, or at least that he'd say that he understood why she wasn't ready yet. But of course, he didn't.

"Yes!" he answered and looked her in the eyes. "I mean like I said 'mione…we've been dating for a year. ONE BLOODY YEAR! No one takes that much time. It's not normal!"

Hermione couldn't believe it. She wasn't stupid … he was a guy and well…of course he wanted to have sex, but she never would have thought, that he'd be so heartless and… selfish..and…she don't know…STUPID.

"I know we've been dating for a year Ron, but think about it…that doesn't count. We've hardly seen each other since September! We've seen each other two times despite Christmas. That's three times in EIGHT months Ron and you're staying here, telling me that we're taking things to slowly? Honestly?"

He looked at her and she saw his face getting redder and redder every second.

"IT'S NOT MY BLOODY FAULT THAT YOU HAD TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL IS IT? AND IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU DIDN'T COME HOME DURING THE EASTER HOLIDAYS!" he yelled angrily.

She was taken aback. He was honestly going to go through with this. As cheesy as it sounded, she fell like her heart was about to break. She knew she could have just agreed with him and everything would've been fine again but Ginny's words kept ringing in her head, louder and louder every second. 'I'm sorry, I know it hurts, but he's just with you because he wants to shag you!'

Hermione tried to be reasonable one last time. "You said you were okay with me going back for my final year and you know I couldn't come back on Easter because Ginny and I had to study for our NEWTS!"

"Yeah, I know I did-" he practically bellowed at me. "I just didn't expect you to be such a prude…" he added murmuring.

She froze.

"YOU DIDN'T EXPECT ME TO BE WHAT?" Now it was her time to get angry and shout at him. "YOU DIDN'T EXPECT ME TO BE A WHAT?"

He looked her in the eyes and at that moment, she knew that things were NEVER going to be the same between them. He didn't even need to say it out loud. She knew Ginny had been right. He didn't love her. Maybe he liked her in the beginning, maybe that's why they became a couple,but now…she swallowed and fell tears building up in her eyes…now he was only waiting for the possibility to shag her.

She couldn't believe it. They'd been best friends since first year. They'd fought Trolls, Dementors, giant snakes, Umbridge, Death Eaters, Horcruxes and Voldemort together and now this? She had never been more disappointed in her entire life.

"That's it!" she said calmly although her shoulders were shaking.

He looked at her confused. "What's it?"

"We're done!" she replied, still trying to keep the tears from leaving her eyes. She didn't want him to see her cry.

His jaw dropped but he quickly recovered sneered at her. "You're breaking up with me? YOU'RE SERIOUSLY BREAKING UP WITH ME?"

"Yes." she simply said. Her calm voice seemed to infuriate him and she saw the mean look he'd given her so often during their sixth years appear on his face. She knew that, whatever he was about to say, it wasn't going to be nice.

"Alright!" he said looking at her with more arrogance she'd ever seen (and that's something considering that she knew Malfoy!).

"You know…I never actually wanted to date you anyway…"

Her heart dropped. "Then why did you?"

He laughed. "Look at that….bookworm Hermione Granger doesn't know the answer to a question…" That was the second time in one day she had heard that…it was seriously starting to piss her off.

"I was with you because I wanted to have some fun, that's all Hermione. I mean…it's not like you had anyone else who cared about you, did you?"

she fell like he'd slapped her and she was suddenly furious. The tears finally started running down her cheeks but she wasn't sure if they were tears of sadness or pure anger.

"HOW DARE YOU?" she shouted at him. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT?"

Ron shouted back at her. "HOW I DARE? I CAN SAY WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT TO SAY! AND BESIDES: YOU KNOW IT'S THE TRUTH! DO YOU REALLY THINK ANYONE WOULD WANT A SNIFFY KNOW-IT-ALL BOOKWORM WHO THINKS SHE'S BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK ANY GUY WITH SANITY WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU? DO YOU…."

PANG

She hadn't even notice that she'd grabbed her wand from the pocket of her trousers but the next moment Ron flew through the air and smashed into the door of the shed.

She ran past him without looking at him, not caring if he was alright. She just had to get away from him as fast as possible. She hurried into the direction of the house, tears flooding her face. She ran past the Weasleys and Harry, who were all standing around the garden table, wands drawn and worried expressions on their face and into the house. She ran up the stairs and into the room she shared with Ginny, slamming the door shut behind her. She just wanted to be alone.

* * *

_Review, review, revieeew xD I'd also like to thank all of those of you who just put my story on story alert or reviewed._

_For those few who were already with me the first time … thanks for rereading it…you know who I mean ;)_

_Emjezz xD_


	4. Chapter 04

I actually didn't want to post another chapter today but well, I obviously just did and you can thank **CocoRocks **for that because she already kept reviewing on my first attempt of this story and still keeps doing it ... thank CocoRocks and for your question/hope: you know I can't restist letting people kick his ass! xD

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**Chapter 4**_  
_

_Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break," said George._  
_"What do you mean, 'tried'?" said Ron quickly._  
_"He never managed to get all the words out," said Fred, "due to the fact that we forced him head-first into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor."_  
_Hermione looked very shocked._  
_"But you'll get into terrible trouble!"_  
_"Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I dunno where we sent him," said Fred coolly. "We tried to shut him in a pyramid, but Mum spotted us." _

* * *

George stared a the backdoor of the Burrow, still holding his wand in his hand. What the hell had just happened?

"What was that?" Fred spoke out his exact thoughts. George turned around and saw Charlie and Fred staring at each other. Harry had his head in his hands and it was shaking slightly.

"Don't know…" George started. "…but did you see her face?" Fred frowned.

"Yeah…" he said, concern showing in his voice.

Over the years the twins had always teased Hermione for being a rule-following bookworm, but that didn't mean that they didn't care about her and the tears running down her cheeks proved that something had happened.

"What do you think-" Charlie started but he was interrupted by an angry Ron, walking towards us out of the darkness. He slumped into the chair next to Harry, grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey and took a big gulp.

Fred exchanged a quick look with George and turned towards Ron.

"What happened to YOU?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

First, Hermione storms into the house, crying, then Ron appears from the same direction, furious. A coincidence? George didn't think so…

Ron put down the bottle and rubbed the back of his head absently.

"She bloody hexed me!" he exclaimed.

His words were followed by a moment of silence.

"She did what?" Charlie asked, raising his eyebrows in curiosity.

"I said she BLOODY HEXED ME!" Ron barked back at him. Normally, this would have been funny and Fred and George would have jumped at the opportunity to tease him because of it, but Hermione's tears and the expression on Harry's face made the earnestness of the situation quite obvious.

"Yes, but WHY did she hex you?" Fred asked, fixing his eyes on Ron.

"What did you do?"

Ron's face went from white to scarlet red in seconds. "What makes you think that I did something?" he shot back.

"Well…." George started, not willing to let Ron take his, obvious, anger out on his twin.

"She doesn't just go around, randomly hexing people, does she? No,…there must have been a reason!" Harry finally looked up from his feet and looked at Ron, frowning.

Ron glared at his brothers. "NO!…of course I didn't do anything. One minute everything was fine and in the next she just starts shouting at me and hexing me. I mean that girl is bloody mental isn't she?" he looked from George, to Fred, to Charlie and finally to Harry, obviously waiting for some kind of support. Support he didn't get.

George didn't know what to say, to be honest. Fred and he never had THAT much to do with Hermione. Not that they disliked her, no…..they were just totally different from each other, she was two years younger than they were and she was Ron's girlfriend and best friend besides Harry. Actually, George had never thought about her THAT much….

That's why he didn't understand why this situation concerned him so much. He could've just let Ginny and Harry handle it. He should either stay out of it or side with Ron, after all he was his little brother….but somehow he knew that, whatever their fight had been about, Hermione would be right. He was sure, that Ron HAD done something and the fact that he'd been irritating and annoying him and Fred for eighteen years now didn't make it any easier.

George snapped out off his thoughts and found Fred and Charlie still questioning Ron about what had happened and Ron going on and on about how irritating Hermione was, but apparently avoiding a direct answer.

Harry had been silent the entire time, but when Ron started bragging about how he'd never be as stupid as Hermione his had snapped towards Ron and he was on his feet in seconds.

"Shut it Ron!" he barked at him, a furious expression on his face.

"What-…" Ron started, but Harry interrupted him. "Don't even start it Ron!" he shouted back at him and George was impressed when Ron immediately shut his mouth and looked up at Harry. Next to George, the corners of Fred's and Charlie's mouths twitched.

"I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU AND YOU'RE CRAP FOR NEARLY NINE MONTHS NOW AND I'M SICK OF IT!" George had hardly ever seen Harry get this angry and he was impressed. Ron must've really messed things up, if even his best friend was that angry.

"YOU'VE BEEN TREATING HER LIKE SHIT EVER SINCE THEY WENT BACK TO HOGWARTS AND I JUST HOPE FOR YOUR OWN SAKE THAT SHE'S NOT CRYING BECAUSE OF WHAT I THINK SHE'S CRYNG ABOUT!" That didn't completely make sense, but well…he was practically shaking with anger now.

Fred exchanged a look at George, no sign of the former forming grin on his face.

George shrugged, still not sure what Ron had actually done.

Ron had not said a word during Harry's outburst. But the last word seemed to make him go into defence.

"Like I said, I didn't do anything mate." He said, still looking at Harry. "She's just mental, always been…always will…."

Harry stared at him and disappointment appeared on his face. He shook his head and started towards the house, probably in order to search Ginny and Hermione.

Ron, the idiot, just sat there, looking after his best mate, not saying anything.

Hermione

It was embarrassing. Here she was, Hermione Granger, Hogwarts graduate, best of her year, participant of the final battle, crying and sobbing into Ginny's shoulder.

And why? Because of a stupid boy. Ginny was holding her tight, one arm around her and stroking her head with her other hand.

Even though they had this huge argument earlier she had rushed after Hermione at once.

Without asking any questions she had locked the door and pulled her into her arms.

Hermione was shaking and crying violently and Ginny was whispering soothing words into her ear, but they didn't seem to help very much. Hermione was disheartened.

"I-I j-just don't g-get it!" she managed to stutter for about the sixth time. "H-how can h-he…how can he s-say something l-like that?" Ginny laughed bitterly.

"He's Ron 'Mione. He always manages to say the worst things." She sighted.

"I'm not saying this because I want to brag about being right, but I warned you. I told you something like this would happen."

"I know…" Hermione murmured. "I-I just hoped you were w-wrong." she added lamely.

"I know you did sweetie." Ginny said smiling at her and brushing the tears from my cheeks. "I know it's hard, but you don't want him to know how much he hurt you do you?"

"N-No!" she chocked out, trying to pull herself together. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction. There was a sudden knock at the door and Ginny got up to open it.

She let Harry into the room and relocked the door behind him. He sat down next to Hermiome and put his arm around her shoulder, pressing her against his side.

"You're okay?" he asked full of concern. Hermione laughed slightly. He always knew how to make me laugh.

"Alright that was a stupid question." he said and let out a quiet laugh. They sat in silence for a few minutes until he started talking again.

"What did he do?"

Hermione sniffed but said nothing. Harry looked at his girlfriend, helplessly, but she simply shook her head. Hermione had not told her what exactly had happened and she had not felt like pressuring her.

"'Mione…" Harry started again. "…please tell me. I can't help you if we don't know what happened."

"You-you couldn't help me even IF I told you." she replied, stubbornly.

"That's complete nonsense 'Mione and you know it." Ginny said and sat down on Hermione's other side. "You know that we'll always be here for you and you shouldn't just bottle everything up inside of you!"

Hermione sighted. She knew they were right.

"W-we were outside in the garden." she said, shaking slightly and started to tell them what had happened in the last hour.

* * *

_Review, review, revieeew or I won't update :P_

_~Emjezz xD_


	5. Chapter 05

**Chapter 5**

****_"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have," said Hermione nastily, picking up her quill again._

_- The Order of the Phoenix-  
_

* * *

The rest of the weekend had passed by without any other incidents that were worth mentioning.

Arthur and Molly either didn't know that something had happened or ACTED as if nothing had happened, although Hermione DID see Molly looking at Ron angrily from time to time. On the other hand, that could've just been wishful thinking.

Hermione was still feeling bad about everything, but after spending the entire Sunday with Harry and Ginny in London she had started to get better.

It was not like she woke up on Sunday thinking _"hey…what was I thinking, didn't like him anyway so let's just forget about the whole thing"_ … but since Harry and Ginny were distracting her all day long, she didn't think about him that much.

Although, the fact that she didn't see him all day might have been a reason too.

When she walked into the kitchen on Monday morning she found Arthur, Molly, Ron, Harry and Ginny already seated around the kitchen table. They all greeted her, except for Ron who just ignored her. _'Fine'_, she thought, sitting down between Ginny and Molly and shaking her head. She should have known that Ron would blame her for everything, but honestly….she didn't really care.

Molly turned towards her and smiled. "Hermione, dear. Would you like some breakfast?"

Hermione smiled back at her and nodded. "Yes that would be wonderful Molly. But I can fix me some by myself you just have to tell me where-"

"Nonsense!" she interrupted her, already standing up. "What would you like? Pancakes?… Bacon and eggs?… Cereal?…Toast?…" she asked and looked at Hermione expectantly.

"Why does she get to choose? All I got was a 'the toast's on the table' and she-" Ron started from the other side of the table, but immediately stopped fussing when Molly glared at him.

"Bacon and eggs would be nice" Hermione answered, ignoring Ron. "Just if it's not too much…" – "No, dear. That's quite alright."

Molly smiled at her one more time and turned towards the stove in order to fix her some breakfast.

"So, Hermione…." Arthur said, smiling up from his copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

"What have you and Ginny planed for today?"

Hermione looked at Ginny who was trying to steal bits of beacon from Harry's plate without him noticing. She smiled when she saw how Harry was looking out of the window, obviously on purpose so that Ginny could manage to steal his beacon.

That was really sweet.

"Well,…I'm not sure yet." Hermione answered, looking back at Arthur.

"I might just read a good book or something. Getting my mind off all the NEWT stuff you know…"

Ron snorted into his mug. This was getting really annoying….

"Yes that sounds reasonable!" Mr. Weasley smiled at her. "When do you have your job interview?" Harry, Ginny and even Ron looked at her with big eyes. She froze.

How did he know? She hadn't told anyone on purpose because she didn't want anyone to know until she actually got a job.

"How do you know about my job interview?" she asked him, confused.

"Ah, see…I met Kingsley on Friday and he told me that he'd arranged one for you."

He waited for a reaction and when he didn't get one he added "I hope you don't mind. I mean he meant no harm by it and he only told me about it." He looked at the others who were all still staring at her. "I would have thought you'd told them. I'm sorry."

Hermione snapped out of her momentary shock and smiled at him. "No it's alright, I would have told you guys eventually." She looked at Harry and Ginny. "I just didn't want to get my hopes up."

They both grinned at her and Ginny hugged me. "That's great 'Mione!" she exclaimed and Harry nodded. "She's right. When you get the job we can all have lunch together and-" but she shook her head, laughing.

"Harry…! It's not even sure if I get the job. It's a job INTERVIEW. Not a job OFFER."

Ginny snorted. "Yeah right, as if you wouldn't get the job. You're brilliant. Anyone who doesn't want you is moron." She glanced at Ron.

"I'm sure you'll do brilliant, dear." Molly, apparently sensing the hostile tone her daughter's voice. She handed Hermione a plate and sat down next to her.

Hermione thanked her and started eating.

"So in which department is it?" Harry asked.

"Hmm.." she swallowed and started to explain. "I wasn't sure what I wanted at first. I thought about the _Department of Magical Law Enforcement_ for quite some time, but then I decided that I could do more if I managed to get into the _Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. _So I wrote to Kingsley, because he told me to contact him once I'd finished my exams and he arranged a meeting with ." she smiled, happy.

"That's great Hermione." Arthur said. "I know many people don't like Amos that much and it's true, he can be a little bit too sure of himself from time to time but he changed a lot after what happened (here they all looked at Harry who was suddenly very busy, looking into his empty mug) and he wouldn't have become head of the department if he wasn't the most suitable candidate. You know Kingsley checked every single ministry employee after the final battle. Hell of a work I can tell you… but it was for the best and you can be sure, that Diggory's going to give you a chance. So when is your meeting?"

"On Friday." she said, grinning. Even if she didn't want to share it at first, she was glad that she could talk about it with Arthur and the others now.

"I was thinking I should maybe formu-" but she'd never be able to tell them what she thought she should do because at that moment, four large owls flew threw the kitchen window, dropped four letters onto the kitchen table and flew out off the window again.

Everybody looked at the letters. "That's strange,.." Molly said and grabbed for the letters.

"Mr. Ronald Weasley,..this one's for you Ron…." she handed him his letter,

"Mr. Harry Potter,…." she gave Harry his,

"Miss Ginevra Weasley,…" she offered one to Ginny,

"and Miss Hermione Granger." Hermione took the last one from her.

Everyone stared at his or her letter. Suddenly, one loud CRACK, followed by a second CRACK filled the silence and Fred and George were standing in front of them, letters in their hands. They were as white as a sheet and shaking slightly.

Arthur and Molly jumped up at once and pulled their sons to their now vacant seats.

Molly looked at them, concern written all over her face.

"What's wrong Freddie?" She asked, but Fred didn't say anything. He just kept staring at the letter in his hand and Hermione realised that it was the same notepaper their letters were written on.

Arthur looked at his other son and shook him slightly. "Son,…what is it? What's wrong?"

"Have you…" he managed to choke out. He cleared his throat and said with a voice that was slightly stronger:

"Did you get any letter today?" he asked, looking at Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione.

How did he….

"Yes they did!" Molly said firmly. She suddenly saw the letters in the twin's hands. "You got the same letters? What do they say?"

Fred looked at his siblings, Harry and Hermione and finally managed to open his mouth.

"Read them!" He simply told them.

Hermione stared at her letter and didn't want to open it. Normally, she was not scared of letters, but if even Fred and George were shocked and unable to talk properly it must have been something you should be afraid of. She looked at Harry, Ginny and Ron but they, too, seemed to be too scared to open them.

"It's okay... you don't all have to open them. It's the same one anyway."

George said still looking shocked.

When nobody reacted Arthur gently took the letter from George's hands and opened it. He unfolded the parchment and ran over the page. His face turned from green, to red to white in seconds and he plopped into the free chair next to George.

"Bad isn't it?" George asked, looking at his father.

"What is it Arthur?" Molly asked with an impatient tone in her voice.

Arthur swallowed hard and started to read out the letter.

_Dear Mr. Weasley,_

_we hereby inform you, that the Ministry Decree 307 has gone into effect at 6am on (Monday) May 29th._

_The Ministry Decree 307 stipulates, that every unmarried wizard between the age of seventeen and fifty and every unmarried witch between the age of seventeen and forty has to marry until July 29th._

_Failing to do so, will be punished by imprisonment._

_Any former engagements or involvements other than marriage are invalid as of now, since it will be upon the ministry to decide which partner will be most suitable._

_A ministry representative will contact you at 9am sharp for further information._

_Respectfully, Gideon Edgecombe, Ministry of Magic_

Dead silence followed Arthurs last words.

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Okaaay thank you for adding and favouring and reviewing :)

I already have the next chapter written but I'll wait until I have three reviews :)

Have a nice Sunday!

~Emjezz xD


	6. Chapter 06

**Chapter 6**

_Dead silence followed Arthurs last words._

This couldn't be happening. Hermione fell like all the air had been drawn around her. She couldn't breathe. Next to her, Harry was holding a crying and sobbing Ginny in his arms. He looked both shocked and furious. Next to him, Ron just stared at his father, mouth wide open. On her left Molly was staring at her husband, horror written on her face. The twins were still unable to react in any way.

"This…this can't be right…" Hermione finally managed to say. "I mean this has to be some sort of joke doesn't it?" She looked at Fred and George, expecting them to start laughing or showing that they had fallen for their prank in any way, but they didn't.

She fell a tear running down her cheek. This was horrible. A disaster.

She couldn't get married! She was only eighteen year old and she didn't even have a boyfriend anymore. Then she remembered the letter.

"What does that mean: 'It will be upon the ministry to decide which partner will be most suitable'? I mean…they can't just tell us whom to marry can the?" George said before she could. Exactly her thoughts.

Arthur looked at his son sadly. "I can't tell you son. I've never heard of anything like this before. I don't understand why they'd do something like that. Why Kingsley would let them do something like that."

Ginny moved away from Harry's chest and turned around, tears all over her face.

"Mum?" she looked at Molly with a heartbreaking expression on her face.

"Mum, tell me they can't do this. Tell me they're not going to make me and Harry break up." She started sobbing even harder and Harry pulled her towards his chest again, a murderous look on his face.

Molly hurried towards her daughter and started stroking her hair gently.

Hermione realised that this would even be worse for Harry and Ginny. It was horrible for Ron, George and her too, but they didn't have a girlfriend or boyfriend they could be forced to never be with again. She watched Harry caressing Ginny's cheek and whispering soothing words she couldn't understand into Ginny's ear. The only one who was probably even slightly able to understand their situation was Fred. Hermione knew that he'd been dating Angelina Johnson for about three years now, although she didn't know how serious their relationship was.

This was so unfair. Take Harry for example. He had already gone through so so much in his live and now, when Voldemort was finally dead and when he was finally able to be with the person he loved more than anything else the ministry might just take that one thing away from him.

Watching Harry and Ginny, anger filled her. She wouldn't let them do this. They had ALL already suffered enough.

"So….what do we do now?" she asked the others.

Fred looked at her. "What do you mean Granger?"  
"I MEAN, that we can't just let them get through with this, can we! I mean when did anything any authority figure told you to do ever stop you and George from doing exactly what you want?"

Now he started grinning. "Respect Granger…..you're right. Rules never stopped us from doing want we wanted to do and they won't this time. Right Georgie?" He looked at his twin who was now smirking. "Sure thing Freddie." You could practically see the mischief in their eyes.

"You're not going to do anything!" Molly said, walking up next to them.

"You're only going to get yourself in trouble."

"But we've got to try something!" They said in union and Hermione nodded.

Molly was about to give a sharp answer when Arthur started to talk.

"Boys,….I know you want to do something about this. I completely understand you. But your mother's right. If you do anything stupid now, things will only get worse than they are."

"Get worse? How can they get worse than this?" Ron's voice came from the other side of the table and for once Hermione had to agree with him.

"I didn't say that we weren't going to do anything at all. I just meant that you shouldn't do anything right now. It's nearly nine and I think we should wait for the ministry representative and talk to him or her. Listen to the other informations…"

Hermione sighted. He was right. Freaking out and overreacting now wouldn't be useful to anyone and the looks on Fred's and George's faces told her that they knew it too.

She glanced at her watch and swallowed. 8:59… when the longer hand moved to the twelve she heard a loud CRACK and when she looked up she saw Percy standing in front of them. He wasn't as white as the twins had been but he was clearly feeling uncomfortable.

"PERCY!" Molly exclaimed and rushed towards him to hug him.

"Hello mother!" he replied firmly. "Hello father!" He nodded towards the rest of them.

"What are you doing here Percy? I know you're father doesn't have to be in until ten today but I thought you'd always start work at eight!"

"I ehm…" he adjusted his glasses nervously. "I suppose you all received letters from the Ministry this morning?" Everyone nodded.

"Well,…I am the ministry representative you're probably waiting for."

SILENCE

"You're joking Perce!" George said, looking at his older brother.

"I most certainly am not." Percy said, glaring at George. He cleared his throat and started talking.

"I've been send by the minister of magic personally to answer any possible questions and inform you about the next steps. First thing first. Do you have any questions?"

"I do!" Hermione spoke up and he looked at her. He looked at her, obviously pleased that she'd been faster than the twins.

"Is there any way around this? I mean they can't honestly make us do this can they?"

"Of course there isn't a way around this Hermione. That is, unless you want to spend the next 22years of your life in Azkaban! This is the Ministry of magic we are talking about." His harsh words made her angry.

"You're sure about that? Or are you just saying this because you're a….a…" damn… she'd never been particularly good at insulting people. Fortunately, George wasn't.

"…a Ministy-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron?" he offered, smirking at Hermione.

"Exactly."

"Now I thought we'd dealt with this boys." Arthur said calmly. He turned towards Percy.

"Percy. Can you, without a doubt say, that there is no way out of it? Can you promise me?"

Percy looked at his father and nodded. "Yes." He said, suddenly looking less official than before and way more personal.

"The minister himself checked it out. He tried every possibility, but there is no way!"

"Why would he want to find a way out of it?" Harry suddenly asked. "Isn't he the reason we're in this mess?" He asked with a sarcastic voice. He had always looked up to Kingsley and Hermione knew the thought of Kingsley being responsible for something like this was making him sick.

"No. He isn't." Percy started. "You have to know, I'm as angry about this as you are. But there are things,…things even Kingsley can't control."

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked.

Percy sighted.

"You have to know that during the war, and I'm not only speaking about the last few years, I'm talking about the last twenty years, during that time the wizarding world has lost many wizards and witches. And when I say many, I mean MANY! We've always been pretty outnumbered by the Muggles but the last years,…." he shook his head and took a deep breath as if to force himself to continue.

"The fact is that, in the last twenty years, we've lost about fifty percent of the wizarding population. It's bad. It's really really bad. There was a time, around 1789 I think, when the same thing happened in France. The thing is that they didn't do enough about it and it got worse and worse until there were hardly any wizards and witches left. It took them centuries to get back to the number they have now. And it's still not that big. So when our Ministry of Magic saw what had happened in France, they decided to come up with a plan if anything like that would happen to us in the future. The built a group of men and women whose only task it was to keep an eye on the wizarding population. If something happened, it would be their task to put the Ministry Decree number 307 into affect. And if they could prove, that there indeed was a situation in which a,…let's call it repopulation, was needed, nobody would be able to do anything against it. Not even the minister of magic."

He looked at them, waiting for a reaction that didn't come. Damn….he was right. There wasn't going to be a way out of this. If Kingsley himself, with all the help and sources and power had not been able to do anything about this we never would.

"So what does the 'it will be upon the ministry to decide which partner will be most suitable' part mean?" Ginny asked him, still sitting on Harry's lap.

Again, Percy sighted before starting to talk again.

"It means that you all have to go to the ministry and there you'll have to do a test. From what I've heard from Kingsley it's a pretty easy one but it's very effective.

Copies of the personality of each wizard and witch will be collected and compared magically. You have to go to the ministry for it so that they can be sure that you don't use any way to manipulate your personality. Once they find you're match they inform you and you're legally engaged."

He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Don't get me wrong here,…like I said I don't like this anymore than you do…but this test…this test is faultless. It will match you with the one person who completely fits you. And if you don't get matched with the person you're dating, or engaged or anything like it, well….I guess you were never supposed to be with that person."

Hermione knew that he only wanted to make things easier for his younger siblings, but it still sounded cruel and apparently Ginny thought so too. She jumped up from Harry's lap and walked towards Percy, furious.

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE WHAT? HOW DARE YOU? HOW DO YOU EXPECT A STUPID TEST TO TELL WHO YOU'RE IDEAL PARTNER IS? HOW DARE YOU EXPECT ANY STUPID TEST OR OR SPELL OR SECRET-ORGANISATION TO UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL?" she was practically spitting the words out and Hermione wasn't surprised to see Percy taking a step back.

"That's not,…that's not what I meant Ginny…I-I…" but he obviously couldn't remember what he had meant.

"Then don't say rubbish like that!" Fred growled, clearly offended as well.

Harry stood up and moved to stand behind Ginny. He wrapped his arm around Ginny and looked at Fred. "It's not his fault guys. He's only the messenger. He's in this himself." He rubbed Ginny's arm and her face softened.

Ginny sighted and leaned into Harry. "He's right, I'm sorry Percy,… I shouldn't have freaked out like this. It's just,.." she swallowed. "I-I couldn't….I couldn't bare loosing Harry."

Fred looked as if he knew exactly what Ginny was talking about and Hermione saw George wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"It's alright Ginny…" Percy answered, a small smile on his face. "I know what you mean. I shouldn't have said it like this."

From the corner of my eye Hermione saw Molly wiping her eyes with her apron.

Hermione looked at the faces of the people who'd been like a family to her and all she could see was surrender. Even on the twins faces. They were a family full of fighters, but now it seemed like every strength to continue fighting had left them.

They knew they couldn't do anything against this. The only other option was to go to Azkaban, and they couldn't do that. They'd be dead in five minutes.

"So what's the next step?" Ron asked. He hadn't spoken in what seemed like ages. Even he knew that there was no other way now.

"I've got a list with the dates of you're appointments at the ministry. It's sorted alphabetically. Tomorrow's surnames starting with A-E, Wednesday's surnames starting with F-J…" he looked up from the parchment he'd grabbed out off his pocket. "That means you Hermione!"

She nodded.

"Your first name starts with an H that means you'll have to go there at 11am. I think there'll be secretaries to tell you where to go. Just go to the second floor."

She nodded again and Percy continued reading.

"Soooo….where was I….right….Thursday's surnames starting with K-O, that doesn't concern us….and Friday's surnames starting with P-T. Harry, that means you'll have to go there at 11am too, same place as Hermione."

Harry nodded.

"That leaves Saturday…..surnames starting with U-Z, meaning Charlie, me, George, Fred and Ginny. The time is a little difficult here. Charlie, starting with a C will have to go first at 9am. Fred, you'll have to go at 10am…..Ginny and George will go at 11am. Finally I'll have to go at 3pm."

He put the list back into his back and looked at the others.

Hermione saw that Fred didn't particularly like the fact that he had to go somewhere without his twin.

"What about me?" Ron asked. "Oh right….sorry Ronald." Percy sniggered (which was weird enough)"…sorry forgot you. Ehm…you start with an R that means you'll have to go in at 4pm!"

Ron nodded.

"Any other questions?" Percy asked and looked around.

"Yes!" Molly said. "How much time does it take until you get the names of you-you're…" – "Our fiancées?" George offered dryly.

She nodded. "Yes…"

"On Monday,…a week from today. It will take them one day to ehrm…find the matches. They'll all be send here. I arranged that because I though it might be easier for us to read them together."

That was incredibly sensitive for him.

So….one week. A month ago she'd still been studying for her NETWS and now she was one week away from being engaged to a guy she probably didn't even know.

One week, and her life would change forever.

* * *

Hehe yeah I've been told befor that I should stop writing cliff hangers xD

Thanks for reading this guys ;)  
For those who've reviewed (thank yooouuu so much):  
**_MarisaDaniellex:_**_ Thank you :) I'm always afraid that the people who are rereading it liked the first version more._

_**pixies114: **Thank you :) I will update again as soon as I've got a few reviews!__  
_

_**Tinkerbell81: **Weeeellll you'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out about that :D but I can assure you that if he doesn't, he'll hget his share of ass-kicking.  
_

_**CocoRocks: **I am not sure to be honest. I had 14 chapters to rewrite but I am quite sure that Arthur DID take George's letter in the first version, too. I didn't change too much about the plot until now as you might have noticed, but I have in some of the others (especially when Hermione is at George's and Fred's flat if you can remember that).  
_

__**As always...review review review... I DO have the next chapters written, if I don't update it's your own fault! ;P**

**~Emjezz xD  
**


	7. Chapter 07

****Okay...I actually didn't plan on posting this chapter until tomorrow but I'm so upset that Italy won that I don't have the heart to make you wait that long. Have fun:)

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**Chapter 7**

It was Saturday, that means...five days later and George was still in shock.

In two days, Fred and he would be engaged. On Monday, they'd find out the names of their supposedly soul mates. The names of those two women they'd have to spend the rest of their lives with.

(In case you're confused because of the 'they', obviously Fred was the most important person in George's life and since that would never change his future wife would have to live with that.)

George looked up from the cereal he'd been staring at and looked at his watch. It was half past seven. In half an hour they'd open their shop and Fred would have to be at the ministry in two and a half hours. Ginny and George would meet in front of the ministry at quarter to eleven. Crap…

He looked up at Fred who was sitting opposite from him. He was staring at the wall behind George. He hadn't touched his breakfast either.

"You're alright Freddie?" he asked although he knew the answer.

Fred looked at him. "Yeah, I mean…you know…"  
"Yeah." George replied. He didn't have to say it out loud. He knew his twin better than any other person. Hell,….sometimes George even knew him better than himself.

He was angry, because of the fact that they were forced into this; He was frustrated and helpless because he knew they couldn't do anything about it and scared, because he might not be Angelina's match.

George on the other hand was livid. He hated those ministry-bastards for the same reasons he did but mostly because they'd hurt Fred. His Freddie….his Gred.

"Have you talked about it?" George asked. "With Angelina I mean."

"Yeah we did. But what good does it do? I mean look at Harry and Ginny. They've talked about it for hours and what did it change? Nothing! And I totally get them. If you're not matched with the person you love you're screwed. What are you supposed to do? I don't know what I'll do if Ang has to marry someone else." He said furiously.

He looked into Georges eyes and added, whispering…"I couldn't stand seeing her with another guy Georgie."

George fell like his heart was breaking in two. He stood up, moved around the table, sat down next to Fred and pulled him into a hug.

The worst thing was, that he still knew that there was nothing he could say that would make Fred feel better. He could say that he was sure they were made for each other, because he honestly was, but that didn't mean that the ministry wouldn't mess things up.

"Hey,…" George said, drawing soothing circles on his back like their mum had always done when they were kids. "…you know even if she gets matched with some idiot you could still elope or something….go into hiding." George grinned at him, hoping to cheer him up.

He smiled sadly. "I couldn't do that and you know it. I wouldn't do that to her. You know what it's like to be on the run from the ministry and be in hiding all the time.

I know it wouldn't be the same as if we were chased by Death Eaters, like we were, but it's still not the life I'd want for her."

"Wow….Freddie." George said, nudging him. "I don't think I've ever heard you talk like that before..all grown up and responsible. It's kinda disgusting."

He laughed out loud. _'Well done Georgie….'_

He grinned at Fred.

"Well…you'd do the same you know…." he said, still chuckling.

"I guess…but unlike you, I'm not utterly-distgustingly-in-love with someone so I guess we won't find out for now." He sniggered. "You mean you're not in love with anyone besides me!" George shoved him.

"Glad your humour has returned, Gred….I was afraid I'd have to entertain everyone on my own from now on."

He grinned at George mischievously. "NEVER"…

The 'test' as it was called was pretty easy, just like Percy had said. But it was weird.

George had to walk into a small cabin, fully clothed, that looked like a shower.

When the ministry employee had closed the door behind him, a golden liquid dropped on top of him and began flooding over his entire body. But that wasn't the weird thing, because it didn't feel like he was getting wet from it. It fell as if the liquid was going through his skin and into his body. Filling every singly part of him.

After a few minutes, the liquid somehow flew away from his body and formed a ball of golden light, still flying in the air next to him.

He stared at it in shock and wonder for a few seconds until the same ministry employee opened the door again and pushed the bundle of light into a (wait for it) jar! _'Seriously…a JAR? Didn't come up with anything better eh?'_

However,..she told him that he was free to go and therefore he walked through the waiting room, searching for Ginny. He found her sitting on a chair next to the door, waiting for him.

They left the ministry and walked to the _Leaky Cauldron _to meet Fred and Angelina for lunch. They talked about the test for a few minutes, but dropped the subject when Fred and George realized the expressions on the girl's faces.

The rest of the weekend went by fast, which wasn't very surprising since time always seems to pass by incredibly fast when you don't want it to.

George woke up on Monday morning, feeling sick. _'Great….doom day.'_

He took a quick shower and got dressed, not bothering how he looked.

Fred and Angelina were already sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for him.

"'Morning,.." he mumbled and sat down on the second sofa.

"Ready?" Angelina asked, clinging to Fred as if her life depended on it.

"As ready as I'll ever be." George replied, standing up again.

They walked towards the fireplace (they were way to nervous to concentrate on apparating), George threw the powder into the flames and off they were.

When they entered the kitchen of the Burrow, mum, dad, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione were already seated around the table.

Bill and Fleur wouldn't have had to be there but it was nice that they'd come to show their support anyway.

"There you are!" their mum exclaimed and rushed towards them. She nearly strangled Angelina and pushed them towards the table.

They sat down and nodded at the others.

Normally, they are all a loud, chaotic bunch of people but today everyone was way to nervous to manage more than a nod.

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes until Fred spoke up. "How long until the letters will come?" He asked looking at dad and Percy but it was Hermione who answered.

"Nine o'clock sharp. I asked a secretary on Wednesday." Of course she would have.

He looked at my watch and coughed. ten more minutes. Oh my …

"That's good." Bill said. Nine pairs of eyes glared at him.

"I mean…" he said hastily, "I mean it's better to get it over with right?"

They still glared at him. Tough talk coming from the only child in the family who DIDN'T have to worry about it.

"Bill is right." their mum stepped in to help him. "If you have to wait longer you'll only drive insane…."

"Too late for that one…" George replied and everybody else nodded.

"Well, anyway…" she said, clearly taken aback by George's answer.

"We should sort out how we're going to do this."

"Do what?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"Well we have to sort out an order in which you kids open the letters don't we?" she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course…why didn't I think about that…." Charlie murmured sarcastically.

Fred and George snorted.

"Why don't we go alphabetically?" dad offered. "Starting with Angelina and ending with Ron."

Ron for once seemed to be glad to be the last one left. He usually started whining or got angry when someone forgot him or left him out or whatever, but not this time.

'_Lucky bastard….why couldn't my name start with an R?' _George thought, frowning.

Suddenly, Ginny shrieked. She pointed towards the window through which you could see nine owls flying towards the Burrow. George had not seen so many owls in one place at the same time since he'd been at Hogwarts. They flew through the window in a neat line and circled over our heads, dropping a letter in front of every one of them. After that they returned to the same window and flew out off the Burrow.

George looked at the letter in front of him.

'_Mr. George Weasley' _This was it….no getting away…Only one envelope was between him and the name of his future wife (still weird).

He looked up at the others.

Angelina was still clinging to Fred and had put his arm around her.

Ginny had moved onto Harry's lap and he pressed her towards his chest so tightly as if someone was about to run into the Burrow and take her away from him. Sadly,…that might just happen.

Charlie and Ron were both staring at the letters in front of them, not moving at all and Hermione sat on the chair next to his mum, shaking violently.

George's throat tightened.

He looked up and saw Bill looking at him and Fred. He gave them a small smile and nodded to tell George that he'd be there fore them.

Great…it was really sweet and all that but right know, George didn't particularly care.

"Okayyyyyy…." Percy started, but apparently didn't manage to press out anything else. He looked at his mum who simply nodded and turned towards Angelina.

"Angelina darling,…" she started softly. "Why don't you open you're letter and get it over with?" But Angelina just shook here head violently. "I-I can't … I can't do this."

Mum looked at Fred but he seemed to be as reluctant as Angelina.

"Do you want me to open eet?" Fleur offered gently, locking eyes with Angelina.

Angelina nodded and gave Fleur her letter.

"Juzt to 'ave it all right. You want eet to be Fred alright?" she asked.

"Yes…." Angelina whispered and leant against Fred.

Fleur nodded and opened the envelope. She pulled out the card and George held his breath.

Her eyes widened…

* * *

Okay,..so maybe I CAN still be mean :D no to be honest I already wrote it like this before the game so that's not the reason...I just like writing cliff hangers from time to time.

Thank you for commenting; **Zuz, casper22, CocoRocks, harrypotterismylove**  
and thanks for adding and favouring.**  
**

I hope I'll get as many reviews on this chapter because...just so you know...the next one is going to entail the matched :D *hehe*

~Emjezz xD


	8. Chapter 08

Hey, I apologize for not being able to post in the last days. As a reward for all of your reviews I'm going to post two chapters now :) Have fun.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

_Her eyes widened…_

"Theez can't be right!" She exclaimed, her eyes fixed onto the small card in her hands.

Georges stomach churned. _'Please, no…'_

He looked at Fred who stared at Fleur while stroking Angelina's back.

"Theez eez 'orrible ! »

Tears started running down Angelina's cheeks and Fred was obviously trying to fight his.

Nobody said a word. To be honest, George thought nobody was breathing at all.

"I am so sorree!" Fleur said, finally looking up at Angelina and Fred.

"Angelina,…" she started and waited until she looked at her.

"I am sorree but I am afraid there eez nothing you can do about theez. You 'ave to ma'rree Fred 'ere."

Everyone stared at her, not sure what had just happened. Bill grabbed the card from his wife's hands to read it and burst into laughter.

George looked at Fleur, confused, and saw the corner of her mouth twitching.

Then, she started laughing, too.

"What…" mum started, but George finally caught up.

He roared with laughter and everyone else, including his twin, stared at him, obviously thinking that they had gone mad.

"I am so sorree!" Fleur managed to choke out between her chuckles. "But I could not rezest." Bill pressed her against his side and kissed her temple, still shaking with laughter.

"What the hell?…what does that…why…how…WHAT?" Fred stuttered. He still hadn't understood.

'_Maaan….I've always know that I was the smart one…' _George thought, laughing.

"Freddie…" George said, fighting a smirk. "Freddie she pulled your leg. You're going to marry Angelina."

Fred stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Yes, really!" Bill said, smiling happily.

Fred stared at Bill for a few seconds, then he threw his arms around Angelina, pressed her against him and kissed her fiercely. George grinned.

If they had managed to match those two, maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

Fred finally pulled away from Angelina and their mum rushed over to hug both of them.

"I am so happy for you. Really…congratulations!" They beamed back at her.

The next few minutes were filled with the others hugging Fred and Angelina and congratulating them as well.

When everyone had finally sat down again, Fred turned towards Fleur grinning.

"Well done Fleur,….didn't see that one coming." She smirked.

"You 'noo…I 'ave learned from ze best…" Fred beamed.

"Of courzze I mean your brozzer." She gave George a wink and Fred laughed.

He looked at her in mock hurt. "But you don't honestly think that marrying me is a bad thing do you?"

Angelina chipped in "well you know Fred,….I think she's quite right. I might have been able to do better."

"Yeah….you obviously could." George said, smirking. "I mean….just look at me."

Now, everyone was laughing. Even their mum.

"Now….it's been really nice of Fleur to loosen things up a bit." their mother said, when all the laughter had finally died. "But why don't you continue opening the letters…or we'll still be sitting here in a week."

She looked at Charlie expectantly. He nodded, swallowed and opened his letter.

They watched him take out his card and read it.

He frowned.

"_Isla Meadows_." he read out loud and looked at us. "Who is Isla Meadows? Does anyone know her?"

Isla Meadows…no…didn't think he'd heard that name before.

The others didn't seem to know her either.

"That's weird, isn't it?" Fred said. "I mean she must be around the same age as you Charlie and she must have gone to Hogwarts."

"Not necessarily." Hermione said. "She could have been home-schooled or she could have gone to another school."

Percy nodded in agreement. "There is also always quite a number of students at Hogwarts. She could have been in another year and another house than you."

Charlie nodded.

"Alright. I guess I'll just have to meet her or something….get it over with."

Bill patted him on the back.

"Right mate, hang in there, I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Charlie was about to put the letter and card away when Harry spoke up.

"Hang on Charlie…did you say Meadows?" Charlie nodded. "Yeah why?"

"I think I've heard that name before…." he thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah right. A few years ago Moody showed me a picture of the first Order of Phoenix. He said some of the names and some were written on the back of it.

I think one of them was Dorcas Meadows."

"Dorcas Meadows?" their dad suddenly asked. "You're sure about that Harry?"

Harry nodded.

"What is it dad?" Ginny asked concerned.

"Well…you have to know I don't know THAT much about the first Order. We weren't part of it back then. But I've heard a few thing over the last years.

There was indeed a Dorcas Meadows in the Order,…and if he's related to Isla…welll…

Dorcas Meadows was killed during the first wizarding war. I don't know that much about it, like I said, but I think he's the only known member of the Order that has personally been killed by Voldemort.." he paused "…besides your parents of course."

He looked at Harry.

It was silent for a minute. George hated how, even if the war was finally over, people were still suffering because of it.

"So…." Charlie started, looking at dad. "…do you know if she's his daughter or anything?"

Dad shook his head. "I don't know. There aren't many Meadows in our world and she would have the right age. She might be. I think they were at least related in some way."

Charlie nodded but didn't say anything else.

Finally, their mum spoke up again, looking at Charlie. "We'll invite her over for dinner or something, to get to know her alright? Now….who's next…..Georgie….I think it's your turn." She looked at George.

"What?"

"It's your turn to open your letter!" She answered, smiling at him.

Oh Merlin! George had been so busy worrying about Fred, Angelina and the others that he'd totally forgotten that he was about to be engaged too.

He looked at Fred, horrified. "Want me to have a look at it Georgie?" he asked and George nodded.

George picked up the letter, his hand shaking violently, and Fred took it. Good….apparently George wouldn't have been able to open it anyway.

Fred opened the letter and took out the card to read it.

George saw his eyes widen and his jaw dropped. "Oh myyyyy…." he started and look at George.

"What is it?" their mum asked and looked at Fred, clearly worrying.

"I…..you…..she…." Fred didn't seem to be able to manage anything else.

Angelina snapped the card out off his hand and gasped. "Sweet Merlin…"

Apparently she was unable to say more than that too.

'_Seriously?'_ George thought, starting to get annoyed. How bad could it be?

So he took the card from Angelina and looked at it.

_Dear Mr. George Weasley._

_We are pleased to inform you that we were able to find a suitable match for you._

_You are hereby engaged to **Hermione Granger**._

_Respectfully, Gideon Edgecombe, Ministry of Magic_

He stared at the paper in shock. "WHAT?"

George looked up at Fred. Fred watched him carefully. _'Hermione?'_

'_HERMIONE?'_

His head shot in her direction. She was sitting in the chair next to Harry and Ginny and was watching him expectantly.

He couldn't think. He looked down at his card and read it again. Yes…..it still said

Hermione Granger in black and white.

"Georgie? What does it say?" Ginny asked softly.

"Her-Hermione…" he started. "Yes?" she replied, obviously thinking he was about to ask her something.

"What is it?" she asked again when he didn't do anything but stare at her.

Fortunately, Fred came to his aid. "It's the name on his card." he said and when he just received confused looks her added "You're name is on his card Hermione. You're his match!"

Her jaw dropped.

Minutes of complete silence followed his words until, finally, an angry voice could be heard.

"YOU'RE ON HIS WHAT?" Ron bellowed.

"Ron…." Harry started, but Ron didn't listen. He looked at George angrily.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!"

"Why would we be kidding about something like this?" Fred asked dryly.

"BUT THIS….THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT! THERE HAS TO BE A MISTAKE!"

He was livid.

Their dad skipped in hastily. "Hermione, why don't you take a look at your card? Just to be sure."

George watched as she opened the envelope with shaking hands and pulled out the card.

"George Weasley" she simply said. She didn't even look at him.

Again, nobody said anything. If the situation hadn't been that serious it would have been quite funny. Lots of silence today,…not that common around Weasleys.

"That's it isn't it?" Ron said, glaring at both, George and Hermione.

"That's why you didn't want to be with me anymore isn't it?"

What?

Hermione looked at him, disbelieve written all over her face. "WHAT?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I mean!" He snorted.

"It's obvious isn't it? You and George have been making out behind my back.

THAT'S why you didn't want to have sex with me; THAT'S why you broke up with me and THAT'S why you two got matched!" He said angrily.

_Well….'At least I know what he's done now.'_ One part of George thought, but the other part was furious.

"ARE YOU STUPID?" He shouted at Ron, not caring that everyone flinched at once.

"DO YOU EVER ACTUALLY THINK BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR BIG MOUTH?"

"ME STUPID?" Ron roared back, not bothering how loud he was either.

"THAT'S WHAT THE TWO OF YOU THOUGHT RIGHT? I'M SURE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A LOT OF FUN BEHIND MY BACK HAVEN'T YOU! HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?"

"Ron!" Harry warned but, again, he didn't listen. He just looked at Hermione and George, disgusted. "I never expected you to be capable of doing something like that."

The others had been watching us with shocked expressions on their faces.

"We haven't done anything , Ron. And you know that." Hermione said calmly, but George could see the tears building up in her eyes.

"DO I REALLY KNOW THAT?" Ron barked back at her. "I THINK THIS MAKES COMPLETE SENSE! WHY ELSE WOULD YOU BREAK UP WITH ME FOR NOTHING!"

Ginny snorted. "Maybe because you're the biggest douche-bag walking on earth?"

She offered.

Next to George, Fred sniggered.

Ron turned his anger on Ginny at once. "WHY DON'T YOU KEEP YOUR HEAD OUT OFF THIS GINNY? IT'S NONE OF YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS!"

'_Well done Ronnie….now you've made her angry too.'_

"NON OF MY BUSINESS?" she shouted. "NON OF MY BLOODY BUSINESS? WHO DO YOU THINK WAS THE ONE WHO HAD TO COMFORT HERMIONE OVER AND OVER AGAIN OVER THE LAST EIGHT MONTHS? DO YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW WHY SHE'D BREAK UP WITH YOU?

BECAUSE YOU'RE AN IDIOTIC, STUPID, EGOCENTRIC, HEARTLESS,DICK-DRIVEN DOUCHE-BACK! THAT'S WHY!"

"GINNY!" their mum exclaimed, shocked.

Ginny turned towards her. "Sorry mum,…but I'm right and you know it."

She shook her head. "There's no reason to shout and get into a fight about this."

She glared at Ron and George.

"Ron, you know very well that neither you're brother nor Hermione would do something like that to you. If you've got problems, don't let it out on them.

Ginny, I know you're angry, but that's not a reason to swear!"

George didn't agree with her. Ginny was right. Ron was a douche-bag. He had no doubt that Ginny had said the truth about what had happened two weekends before.

George had always known that Ron could be an insensitive git. But it still surprised him that even HE would blame him and Hermione for going after his back, (which by the way they didn't!) while he had obviously just been with her to shag her.

The simple thought of it made George angry. He knew she never hang out with Fred or him that much but he knew she didn't deserve this. Sure, she could be a know-it-all, but she could also be brilliant if she wanted to.

George saw Bill, Charlie and even Percy shaking their heads at Ron, while Fleur and Angelina were simply glaring at him.

Fred looked just how George was feeling. Disgusted.

Then, a though finally sank in. He would marry Hermione. His little brother's ex girlfriend. In a few weeks they'd be husband and wife. He swallowed.

''_Could have been worse'_ he thought. He had never been in love with her or something, but just thinking about who he could have been matched with made him shiver. Yeah,…he could have done a whole lot worse.

Fred lay his hand on his shoulder and nudged him reassuringly. George knew what he was telling him without using any words and he nodded at him.

He was right. They were going to make this work. Together, like always.

The next one in line was Ginny. She was still sitting on Harry's lap and he was smiling at her reassuringly when she opened her letter.

Her eyes flew over the card and she started to smile like George'd never seen her before.

They had been matched.

She flung her arms around Harry's neck and started peppering kisses all over his face.

Everyone laughed, even Harry. George felt like another huge part of the stone that had formed around his heart in the last week broke off.

At least his two favourite siblings got to be with the person they loved.

He turned his head towards Fred and saw that he was grinning too.

When Ginny had finally stopped kissing Harry (which took her about five minutes) they all got up to congratulate them. Harry was beaming and George doubted that he'd ever seen him this happy before.

Since Harry and Hermione already knew what their letters said, it was Percy's turn now.

He opened his letter, took out the card and smiled. Whatever the card said, he was obviously happy about it.

"Percy?" dad asked, watching him closely.

"It says _Audrey MacDougal_." He said, still smiling.

"Audrey MacDougal?" Angelina asked. "I think I know her. Wasn't she a Ravenclaw in the year above us?" she looked at Fred and George.

"Yes, yes…" Percy said. "She was, indeed. She's working in my old department.

She's really nice,… and intelligent!" He was obviously thrilled about being matched with her.

"Awwwww….isn't that sweet…" George started, grinning broadly.

"….Perce has got a crush on his fiancé." Fred finished.

Percy blushed. "I don't…" he started but Charlie interrupted him.

"Don't lie to us Perce…it's quite obvious."

"Yeah….why else would you look like you'd eaten a hand full of pepper-drops?" Ginny asked sniggering.

"Leave him alone!" their mum ordered, but you could see that she was amused too.

"Percy dear. I am glad you were matched with someone you know and like. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to have you as a match too! So now…that only leaves you Ronnie doesn't it?"

Ron nodded with a green face. Since he was sitting next to Percy, they were looking like a traffic light.

Ron opened his envelope and read the name out loud.

"_Mary Bones_." he said. "Who's Mary Bones?" he asked.

"I know her!" Ginny offered reluctantly, obviously still mad at him.

"She was in my year, but in Hufflepuff. You guys know her cousin Susan."

Everyone nodded. George remembered Susan. She was one of the girls from Harry's year that were in the DA.

"Mary's very nice." Ginny added, then she murmured "not that you deserve that…"

Ron nodded appreciatively.

George looked at Hermione. She was staring at the table in front of her absently. She had been silent since they'd found out that they were matched.

George was wondering what she was thinking. He hoped she wasn't horrified because she would have to marry him. She wouldn't have been his first choice either, but not because she was grossing him out or something, but because the thought just never occurred to him. He had never looked at her in that way. She'd always been like another little sister.

'_Urgh…wrong thought,…you should really never think about having to marry your little sister. JUST WRONG!'_

He wondered if she was sad because she wouldn't marry Ron. Of course she'd broken up with him and George had never been able to figure out why she had been dating him to begin with, but that didn't mean that she'd be able to get over this in just a week.

Some people might be able to do this but not Hermione. She wasn't a person who had flings. George was sure she'd been in love with Ron.

His mum's voice pulled him out off his thoughts.

"So,…now that this is settled. Why don't you-" she looked at Charlie, Percy and Ron  
"- contact you're…ehm girls-" she was obviously avoiding the word fiancé "-and invite them over here for lunch on Sunday. That way they can meet the entire family and we can meet them."

They nodded. "Now…who is going to stay for lunch?" she asked looking around.

Since the ministry had declared that nobody had to work today everyone decided to stay. She turned around, after ensuring the very pregnant Fleur that she didn't need any help, and started preparing lunch for them.

George turned towards Hermione who was still sitting on the same chair, staring at the table.

She must have felt his look on her because she suddenly looked up and smiley weakly.

"Wanna go for a walk?" he asked her quietly, not wanting everyone to hear him.

She nodded and stood up. George got up from his chair, winking at Fred who was watching him and led her through the Burrow and into the backyard.

Walking over the grass he realised that he was more nervous about this than he'd thought. He knew they had to talk about it the earlier the better, but I was still nervous about it.

He led her towards the lake they always swam in during the summer. He sat down in the grass and motioned her to sit down next to him.

They sat in silence for a while until he spoke up slowly.

"So,…I guess we'd better talk about this…."

She nodded.

* * *

Aaah what do you think? Review pleeeaaase!

~Emjezz xD


	9. Chapter 09

**Chapter 9**

„Yes...maybe we should." she said, looking up at George.

She still couldn't believe it.

She'd never even considered dating him and now she'd have to marry him! In a few weeks!

"So…this was ehm … unexpected." she said.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "You mean you didn't expect getting matched with ME?" he said, pretending to be surprised.

She laughed.

"No…to be fair I didn't at all."

"Me neither." He said with a smile. She nodded. Of course he hadn't. It was like Ron had said wasn't it? Who'd want to be with someone like her…

She rubbed her arm absently. She'd always been wearing long sleeves since Malfoy manor, because she didn't want anyone to see the words Bellatrix had permanently scratched into her skin, but that didn't mean that she could forget about them.

From time to time, like when she was nervous like now, they would start itching.

She knew it was nothing compared to what Harry's scare had done in the past but it was still uncomfortable and utterly annoying.

She fell horrible. Not because she hadn't been matched with Ron, no. She was still unhappy because of what had happened with him and, to be fair, she still liked him a lot but she knew that things between them would never be the same again and she didn't want to be with him anymore. Not after what he'd said.

She fell horrible because George was forced to marry her. He could have done so much better than her, she was sure. Of course, he was a prankster and you might always want to watch out for yourself around him, but she'd also seen other sides of him, especially in the immediate time after the battle. He was extremely loyal and courageous, he'd do anything for his family and close friends. And he was smart. She knew that she hadn't been able to admit that during their time at Hogwarts, but you couldn't invent the stuff they did without being brilliant. She also had to admit that he was pretty good looking. She'd always thought that….anyone saying he wasn't was either blind or stupid. Of course she wouldn't tell him that. No need for his ego to get even bigger.

She sighed. Ron's words had really gotten to her. She'd always had very little self-esteem.

And hearing the things she'd always thought from him had made it worse.

"I'm sorry…" George said and made her look up again. "I'm really sorry that you got matched to me Hermione." He smiled sadly.

"I'm sure there would have been a lot of guys you'd preferred getting engaged to. Like Ron or something…." he murmured. "I know that you could do much better than me."

"What?" she exclaimed. "No!" shocked that he was honestly thinking that she could do better than HIM, not the other way around.

"I mean,…" she said calmly when he looked at her surprised at her sudden outburst.

"Obviously I didn't expect this, but because I never actually gave it any thought George. But I don't think I could do way better than you. Honestly."

He stared at her. "Really?"

"Yes." I said, blushing. "To be honest I actually think YOU could do a lot better than ME." she admitted and he laughed.

"Quite a couple we are…" her heart skipped at the word 'couple'. But he was right…

They were a couple now. They were engaged.

"Yeah." she answered, chuckling slightly.

"What about Ron?" he suddenly asked.

"What about him?"

"Well I know you broke up with him and I think I can pretty much figure out why, but are you sure about this? I mean…" he sighed.

"Yah…I mean it's not like I don't like him anymore at all-" she admitted. Better start being honest right away "-but it's not like anything would change or like he'd change. He's Ron you know…always has been always will be."

He snorted. "Yeah he is… you know Fred and I could never figure out why you were dating him anyway."

"He's not always like this George!" she said. "He can be really sweet if he wants to."

"Then he never wants to." he said harshly.

She fell tears build up in her eyes again and looked away from him. But he immediately realised that he'd said the wrong thing. He lay his arm around her back and stroke her left arm. "I'm sorry 'mione, I shouldn't have said that."

She smiled when he used her nickname for the first time.

"It's okay. I just don't get how I could've been so stupid…and blind."

"Well.." he said, chuckling slightly. "…I can't disagree with that you know."

She shove him, laughing out loud. "You're impossible George Weasley."

He grinned down at her and squeezed her against his side. "I know, but I've made you laugh, haven't I?"

She smiled. "Yes you have."

"I think we could have done a lot worse." He said, suddenly earnest again, though not for long. "You could have been matched to Percy." He chuckled.

"And what would poor Audrey have done then!" she added sarcastically.

He kept chuckling.

They set in silence for a while until a new though came to her mind.

"How is this going to work George?" she asked him, practically whispering the words.

"I don't know.." he answered, honestly. "…I guess we'll just make one step after another and try to get used to the thought. Get comfortable you know."

"Yeah…" what else could they do?

"But you know it's just seven more weeks right?" she asked looking to the other end of the lake.

"At the most." he said and made her look at him in confusion.

"Why 'at the most'?"

"Well,….it's seven more weeks until the deadline, but we've got six wedding in the family. And that's not even friends. I think there might be quite a big possibility that we won't have to wait for seven weeks." he said.

Damn…he was right. That would be six weddings and six weekends.

"But you don't think we'll have to be one of the first do you?" she asked him, scared.

He shook his head. "No … don't think so. I mean there are Fred and Angelina and Harry and Ginny. They've been dating and if they've any decency they'll go first.

But after that…."

"…you think you're parents will say that Charlie and Ron should be the last ones?"

He nodded.

"To be honest….it makes sense. They don't know their matches at all."

She recognised how he avoided the word fiancé and she was glad. This was going way too fast anyway.

"I know…." she replied lamely. "So that would means in either four or five weeks."

She shuddered slightly. They might be married in one month.

"Yes…" he just said and to be fair, what else could be said? They couldn't change it anyway. She still didn't know what to say though.

"So we should just make the best out of the time we had right?" she finally asked shyly.

He frowned. "I mean,…we don't have to if you don't want." she murmured looking down at her lap.

"No!" he said. "Of course I do." He moved his hand towards her chin and made her look at him.

"I'm sorry it seemed like I didn't want to make the best out of it. I was just thinking about everything. Okay?" she nodded, still feeling bad.

He dropped his hand from her chin and smiled at her.

"How about this; you'll come to our flat some time this week and hang out with Fred and me. Just to get to know each other better you know…?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that." she said. "But I can only be there after six you know.. I'm starting my new job at the ministry tomorrow."

She smiled. She still wasn't able to believe that she'd actually gotten the job.

"Really? That's great 'mione!" George exclaimed, apparently seeing the happy expression on her face. "Where is it?"

"In the _Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures_ ." she said happily.

"Awesome! You're still working on SPEW then?" he asked.

She was surprised that he'd remembered SPEW.

"Well not right now. I'm just starting at the ministry, but it's my long-term goal."

"And which division are you in?" he asked interested.

"Being division." She said proudly. There were three divisions in the department.

The beast, being and spirit division. The first dealt with all duties and problems concerning those magical creatures classified as a "Beast" by the Ministry. The second with all duties and problems concerning those magical creatures classified as a "Being" and the last one with those classified as a "Spirit" (like Dementors urgh).

"I thought that would be the best point to get started. I mean the Goblin Liaison office and Centaur Liaison Office sounded interesting too, but I couldn't work with Houselves there and…" she stopped when she saw the look on his face.

"Sorry…I'm running riot." And to her surprise, she blushed. Great.

He smiled. "No it's alright. I was just thinking, that I'd better try not to end up on the wrong end of your wand." He smirked. "I mean you can be quite impressive when you've made your mind up about something. Wouldn't want you to get mad at me." He chuckled.

"Yeah,..well we'll see how that will work out for you, won't we.." she joked and he laughed.

"That we will … but what we were talking about before this….I really hope you'll come and visit us. We close the shop at eight on workdays."

"Okay. Which day would be best?" she asked him.

"Doesn't matter actually….we don't have any plans for this week, although.." he sighted.

"Although what?"

"I hate to bring this up again, but maybe sooner would be better that later. A month runs by quite fast."

She nodded. No need to be upset about it. It couldn't be changed anyway.

"So how about the day after tomorrow?"

"Okay, … that's settled then."

"What's settled then?" a voice behind them said. They both winced and George dropped his arm immediately. She turned around and saw Fred standing behind them, grinning.

"I just invited 'Mione over. You know… hang out and get to know each other."

Fred nodded. "That's great Hermione." He smiled at her.

"Anyway,… mum sent me to tell you that lunch's ready." he said.

She looked at her watch. Wow….they had been talking for an hour.

They stood up and all headed back to the Burrow. She walked behind Fred and George who were laughing about something George had just said.

Talking about everything had been nice. It was still horrible that they were forced into something like this, but she was glad that George wasn't blaming her for anything and was willing to make the best out of it.

Maybe this WAS really going to work.

They walked into the kitchen, sat down and started to eat.

"There is one more thing." Percy suddenly said, from his side of the table.

'_Omy,…what now?'_

"I should have already informed you about this last week, but,…well I didn't want you freak out even more."

Everyone looked at him expectantly. "Well…we are all supposed to hand in the date of our weddings tomorrow."

"Well, …that's not that bad compared to the fact that we have to marry someone they tell us to marry." Hermione babbled without thinking.

Fred and George chuckled. "Damn right…" Charlie grumbled.

Molly immediately ran over to the counter and got her calendar.

"Oh dear…." she said, ruffling her already messy hair. "How on earth are we going to do this?" she sat down shaking her head.

"Well…." George started slowly. "…Hermione and I have actually already figured something out."

'Hermione and I'….that sounded surprisingly nice.

Ron snorted. "Of course you have…" he mumbled into his stew.

Molly just glared at him and turned towards George.

"What did you think, dear?" Everyone looked up from their plates.

"Well there are seven weekends left right,.." he started. "And there are six weddings in the family. We could leave the next weekend empty because,…well it would be a little bit fast, right…then we thought Fred and Angelina and Harry and Ginny could take the next two weekends (here he shot an apologetic look at Fred but he didn't seem to be angry about him and Angelina being one of the first couples).

Then ehm…" he looked at Hermione, suddenly uncomfortable, so she chipped in.

"We thought that Percy and Audrey and the two of us should have the next two weekends and Charlie and Isla and Ron and Mary the last two since they don't even know each other at all and…uhm Percy does know Audrey from work and George and I have known each other for years." she finished.

Everyone looked at us in awe.

"I think that's the best possible plan!" Arthur said and Molly nodded.

"Yes." she said, smiling at George proudly. "It's really nice of you and Hermione to suggest something like this considering that you haven't been dating or something before either. So… I think we should sort this out right now. Of course we don't know about Audrey's, Mary's and Isla's families, but we can keep one other possibility open until you've contacted them. But that would of course mean,…" she said looking up from her calendar, "-that you'll have to contact them today boys. We have to have an answer by tomorrow morning." Hermione saw Charlie and Ron nod silently and Percy smiling. "Of course mother, I'll get to it right after lunch."

He really seamed quite eager to see Audrey.

"So,…Angelina, Fred, Harry, Ginny…you'd have either weekend number two or weekend number three. Which one would be better.

"I'd like to take number three mum!" Ginny said. "I've got a game on the other one and I don't want to be covered with bruises or at on my wedding day."

She grinned at Harry. They obviously liked the sound of 'my wedding day'.

(For those of you who didn't know,….Ginny had joined the Holyhead Harpies directly after graduating; which was just one week ago. Ohmy….)

Molly nodded. "That's quite alright. Or do you have any reason against it?" she asked Fred and Angelina but they just shook their heads.

"Okay it's settled then. Fred and Angelina go first and Harry and Ginny after them.

Next on are Percy, George, Audrey and Hermione." She looked at them.

"Well we can obviously not decide that yet, since we don't kn-"

She was interrupted by an owl flowing through the window. It flew over and dropped a role of parchment on Percy's head and flew out of the window again.

"It's from Audrey!" he said excited and opened the role.

They all watched him read and his brothers chuckled when he turned a deep shade of red while reading it.

"Well.." he said. "..she sent me dates which were suitable for our wedding."

"She did what Perce?" George asked grinning.

"She sent dates which were suitable for our wedding." Percy repeated. "She's very responsible, you know…"

Fred sniggered. "Well what else did she write? You sure didn't turn into a tomato because of dates did you?"

If possible, Percy blushed even more.

"That's..That's non of your…she…I…but…She says hello to the family." He said lamely.

Charlie and the twins burst into laughter and Bill grinned.

"Sure…..that's all she said…." Ginny murmured.

"So what does she say about weekend number four and weekend number five?" Molly asked before her children could continue teasing Percy.

"She ehm…" Percy read over the parchment again. "She' free on the fifth but not on the fourth."

"Okay so….that would leave Hermione and George with the fourth weekend."

She looked at Hermione, worry written all over her face. "Is that okay for you dear?" she asked.

Hermione swallowed. Of course it had to be the worst case scenario. It couldn't just have been the fifth…nooo it had to be the fourth. Great…she'd have to get married in less than four weeks.

"Yes, sure." she said and looked at George. He seemed taken aback too.

"Good, good….so that's settled. Charlie, Ron, you'll contact Isla and Mary as soon as possible to sort your dates out. Alright?"

Again, they just nodded.

Hermione watched them pecking at their food and fell guilty at once. At least she knew the person she'd marry.

"Good good,…Hermione dear." Molly turned towards her. "I meant to ask this last week but I always forgot. Did you tell you're parents about this?"

At this, George's head shot in her direction and he watched her, clearly interested.

"No I haven't." she admitted.

"Why not?" Ginny asked.

"Well…it's not that easy, you know…with everything that's happened. I mean they said they understood why I sent them to Australia, but I don't think they really do.

They don't understand what it's like to be a witch to begin with and I don't think they really got in how much danger they were. They said it was okay and that they DID understand it but well…" she sighed. "I think they just said that to comfort me. They couldn't return to our house because the Death Eaters had totally destroyed it and they had to rent the small flat above their dentistry. I don't know how to tell them that there's a law that can tell us to marry someone we wouldn't have thought about getting involved with without it." shr smiled at George apologetically and he smiled back at her, understanding.

Ginny moved her chair closer to Hermione's and hugged her. "Why didn't you tell me about all that 'mione?" Behind her Harry nodded.

"There wouldn't have been anything you could have done." Hermione said. "I think we started drifting apart from each other the minute I got the Hogwarts letter."

Molly patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay dear. You know you're like a second daughter to Arthur and me and now that you and George…" she stopped for a minute.."I mean you know that you can always rely on us."

Arthur nodded. "It's your decision if you want to tell them or not. But don't you think that they'll find out eventually? Just imagine how angry and sad they'd be then."

She nodded. Not sure what to say. She loved the fact that they thought of her as a daughter, but it didn't change the problems between her and my parents at all.

Thankfully she didn't have to say anything because at that moment Fleur let out a small scream and Bill paled dramatically. He immediately started fussing over Fleur.

"What's wrong Fleur?" Molly asked, worried.

"I'll tell you what eeezzz wrong….MERDE! C'est horrible!" Her hand went to her stomach and she continued swearing in French.

Bill looked at his mother, fear written all over his face. "Mum?" The look on his face would have been funny (he looked like a six year old who'd just woken up from a nightmare) if Fleur hadn't used that exact moment to scream again.

"Oh my…" Molly exclaimed and rushed to Fleur's aid.

"Arthur! Inform ,…Charlie! Go to Shell Cottage and get some stuff for Fleur. Take Ginny with you, she knows where everything is." she ordered, but nobody reacted.

They were all staring at Fleur in shock.

"NOW!" she shouted and Ginny, Charlie and Arthur rushed off.

Bill finally seemed to have figured out what was going on and he looked at his mother in horror while caressing Fleur's arm.

"But this is too early!" He exclaimed. "We were supposed to have another month!"

"Eeet eeeezzz all right sweeteee." Fleur managed.

"Remember I 'am part Veela. Theezz eezz perfectly normal…..I think." she added and grimaced with pain.

"You THINK?" Bill practically shrieked. "What does that mean you THINK it is normal?"

"Eeet meanz zat a Veela carreez her bebe for six monz and a witch for nine. There eez no proov how long a part Veela does. Eet eez …. (she winced) MERDE!…always different. My mozzer gave labour to me afteeer zeven monz and to Gabrielle after zeven and a 'alf."

He frowned. "And why didn't you tell me? I should have known about this!"

"She didn't want you to worry for months!" Molly said smiling, at her son.

"You knew?" he asked. Taken aback.

"I 'ad to tell someone, non?" Fleur said.

Bill was about to say something Fleur screamed again and Molly immediately advised Bill to take her to .

"We'll follow you in a while!" She called after them when they stepped into the fire.

When they'd left George broke the silence. "Merlin….at least you can never say that life gets boring around here."

Hermione simply nodded in agreement.

* * *

Revieeew...Because you know I won't update if you don't :P

~Emjezz xD


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

In the late afternoon, Victoire Gabrielle Weasley was born. She was healthy, looked like a mini Fleur and was simply gorgeous (at least that's what Bill kept saying over and over again).  
For Bill's sake, George was glad it was over because Fleurs temper during her pregnancy was NOTHING compared to her temper while she was in labour. It wasn't like George knew a whole lot about pregnant women, but he remember his mum being pregnant with Ginny and he didn't think she had been as horrible as Fleur had, despite the Weasley-temper.

Yesterday everyone had still been in the oh-my-god-the-Weasley-family-has-a-new-member state but while George was getting ready on Wednesday morning the things that had happened pre-Victoire started coming into his mind again and he suddenly remembered that Hermione would visit them tonight.

During breakfast he simply stared into his cereal without eating any of it.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even realise Fred talking to him until a piece of his beacon hit him straight in the face.

"Whatssup?" George asked, looking around confused.

Fred looked at him sceptically, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Welcome back mate!" he said.

George just jerked his head and started poking his cereal.

"You' alright Georgie?" Fred asked and George chuntered.

"What are you nervous about?" Fred asked, scanning him.

George's head snapped up. "I'm not nervous!" he said angrily before realizing the triumphant look on Fred's face. Damn…the guy was good.

"So what is it?" Fred asked nonchalantly and continued eating his breakfast.

"Nothing…" George simply murmured.

"Seriously George?" George looked at him when he used his full name. He hardly ever did that. Only when he was angry with George.

"Tell me,…when did we start lying to each other?" Fred continued.

"We don't…I'm 're right…" George answered, quite pathetic he thought.

"Of course I am!" Fred said. "So…spill it."

He leaned back in his chair and watched George expectantly.

George sighted. "I'm kinda nervous about tonight." he finally admitted.

"About Hermione coming over?"

George nodded.

"Since when are you nervous about birds, let alone Hermione? You've never been nervous about meeting a girl before."

"Yeah,…but before I haven't been engaged." George pointed out.

"Right….forgot that part." Fred said and George snorted. "Lucky you.."

He looked at George confused. "But you seemed to be getting along fine on Monday. You know at the lake." He added.

"Yeah I know…it wasn't that bad. I know I could've done a lot worse than her but it's still weird. I mean up until a week or so ago she was still Ronnie's girlfriend for crying out loud!"

Fred shuddered. "Never understood that part." Then he grinned. "But look at it this way Georgie…she must have very low expectations in guys after dating Ron."

George laughed. "Very low…" They sniggered.

After a few minutes Fred looked at George again with a serious expression on his face.

"So what are you worried about?"

"Well…" George started, not sure how to say it. "I don't know how to do this." he finally said.

Fred laughed "You don't know how to do this? George honestly…just do it the same way you've done it with the other girls you've gone on dates with."

George started to say something but Fred interrupted him.

"And don't say that this is different again. I know it is. I'm not stupid. I know this whole thing sucks for you and Hermione but why don't you follow your own advice?"

George looked at him confused.

"Make the best out of it! That's what you two said, wasn't it?"

"Been eavesdropping, have we!"

He shrugged. "Yeah…but you were right you know! You can't change anything. There's nothing you can do about the whole thing unless you wanna end up in Azkaban and as nice as a trip to the ocean would be,…I wouldn't recommend it.  
You can't keep whining about it. You have to make the best out of it. So why don't you just act like it'd be like any other date you've had?"

"Because I keep thinking that it's weird but that it HAS to work." George said angrily.

Fred just rolled his eyes.

"Bloody hell Georgie! I know it's weird. But why can't you just get over it and take one step after another. Stop thinking that it has to work. Just act like you normally would. Get to know her…maybe you'll even like her." He said. "Although it would be quite strange,…she's a prefect after all." He grinned and George head.

He really was incorrigible but George e was right. He was George Weasley for Merlin's sake.

He wasn't someone who went on whining about things or started to freak out.

He was self-confident and brilliant and for crying out loud he was a Weasley twin and it was about time that he continued behaving like one.

She was a mess.

An insecure, frightened, helpless mess. And why? Because of George Weasley.

If someone had told her she'd be standing in front of her trunk, freaking about a date with George Weasley a few weeks before she would have considered institutionalising that someone. Now she was seriously considering institutionalising herself.

She didn't understand why she was so nervous about this. Why couldn't she be as rational as normally? It wasn't even a real date. She would be hanging out with George AND Fred to get to know George AND Fred. Plural. Why couldn't she just see it as what it was? A necessity because they WOULD definitely get married in a few weeks.

She winced when a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder and spun around. Even one year after the war had ended she still freaked out about things like that from time to time.

She immediately fell embarrassed when she

saw Ginny standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry Ginny! I was thinking….about stuff. I didn't hear you come in."

She smiled at her knowingly. "Sooo….don't know what to wear?" she asked and started digging into Hermione's trunk.

That's what she liked about Ginny. She didn't always have to endlessly discuss things.

She let you know that she know what you were worried about and that she was there for you but she didn't feel the need to discuss things, in this case because she knew as well as Hermione did that that wouldn't change things.

She turned towards Hermione with a sweater and a pair of jeans. "See….this way you won't look as if you'd dressed up but those jeans are quite new and you always looked gorgeous in that sweater." She smiled and Hermione started to change.

Half an hour later Hermione was standing in front of the door to George's and Fred's flat.

She'd been standing there for about five minutes but she'd been too nervous to knock.

She knew she was being ridiculous but she

couldn't help it. Maybe she should just leave again?

But an answer to that question wasn't necessary because at that moment a laughing George opened the door. He spotted her and grinned immediately.

"'Mione!" he exclaimed and stepped forward to hug her.

"I was just about to go and get something from the shop. Come in!"

She walked into the flat and looked around. She stood in something that appeared to be a huge living room. Two sofas were on opposite sides of a low table and Fred and Angelina were seated on one of them, having a heated discussion about something and being completely oblivious to the fact that they had just entered, or in George's case re-entered the flat.

In the back of the room was a counter that separated the living room from the kitchen and two doors on the left probably lead to George's and Fred's rooms.

The furnishing practically screamed 'Weasley twins'. The walls were painted in a bright orange. The sofas were neon green and purple. One would have thought that it would be too much but somehow it just look and fell…right.

George's hand on her back brought her back. He gently pushed her towards the sofas and Fred and Angelina finally realized that they weren't the only ones in the room.

"Hermione!" they exclaimed and then they, to her surprise, both jumped up to hug her.

She smiled. It was obvious that they were trying to act like nothing was out of the ordinary but somehow she didn't feel awkward because of it. Just glad that they didn't seem to be holding a grudge against her because she was intruding or something.

She sat down on the free sofa next to George and looked around again.

"This place really looks great." she said and smiled at Fred.

"You think?" he said with mock wonder. "I wasn't sure if we'd added enough colour to it!" George sniggered and Angelina shove Fred.

George turned towards Hermione.

"So, what's your new job like?"

She was surprised that he'd thought about it and apparently, so was Fred.

"'What's your new job like?' Seriously Forge?" he shook his head again and Angelina hit him on the back of his head.

"Ahh, what was that for Ang?" he asked, rubbing the place where she'd hit him.

"That was for not being nice to your brother!" she said, grinning.

"But he was being boring!" he declared and George glared at him.

Time to skip in…

"I think it was nice!" Hermione said and smiled at George._'Now…where did that courage come from?'_

"Thanks.." George said, grinning. "So how was it?"

"Well…to be honest there hasn't been that much exciting going on so far but I enjoyed it a lot. They just introduced me to the rest of the staff yesterday and showed me to my cubicle and assigned me to Dirk Cresswell.  
Today he took me out to a lake in South Scotland to talk to some Merpeople."

"Merpeople? I didn't know the Being Department dealt with Merpeople." George said, surprisingly interested.

"Yes…" she said and saw through the corner of her eyes how the front door closed behind Fred and Angelina. But George didn't say anything about it.

She decided to just let it go and continued.

"Yes they actually belong to the beast Department."

"Then why did you have to deal with them?" He asked, obviously confused.

"Well…the Ministry offered them the being status, as well as the centaurs for that matter, but they didn't want it because they did not want to be grouped with creatures such as hags and vampires and are by default classified as Beasts.  
But the people from the Beast Department keep having problems with them and Dirk Cresswell is an expert on Merpeople and that's why they keep asking for his help."

He nodded. "And what creatures are in your Department?"

"Well.." she started, smiling. "Houselves of course, goblins, giants, hags and you're gonna like this one … Veela."

He laughed out loud. "Really? You've got to deal with Fleur and her relatives?"

"Well, actually Fleur's only a part Veela but yeah…that's pretty much it."

He grinned mischievously. "Could you pleeeaaase talk about Veela regulation when we're having that family dinner on Sunday? Pleeeaaassseee?"

He looked at her with big puppy-like eyes.

She couldn't help but laugh. "I'll think about it." When did she start laughing about George's jokes? She shook her head.

"Anyway I…." he interrupted me. "Hang on. Did you say vampires?"

"Yes." she answered, confused. "They are in the group too. As well as werewolves."

"WEREWOLVES?" he practically shouted.

Hermione looked at him, taken aback.

"What are you freaking out about?"

"You're joking Hermione? We're talking about vampires and freaking werewolves here!"

That made her angry. "Freaking werewolves? When did you start being so shallow George?"

He turned slightly red and said nothing.

"Don't you remember Remus? He was our friend AND a werewolf, remember?"

That seemed to make HIM angry.

"And do YOU remember Greyback?" She

shivered. Of course she did.

"Not all werewolves are like Greyback, George!"

"And not all of them are like Remus either!" He exclaimed. "Don't you remember what Remus told us? Most of the werewolves were on Voldemorts and Greybacks side. Now, Voldemort might be dead, but Greyback sure as hell isn't."

"What are getting so angry about?" she asked and looked at him.

"I mean, I know this is serious, but that's no reason for you to get so loud."

He didn't say anything for a few minutes and just looked at her. Then his features softened. "I'm sorry 'Mione. I know you can take care of yourself. It's just … after what's nearly happened to Bill I kind of tend to freak out about that topic from time to time. And I don't want anything to happen to my friends."

She stared at him.

"Your friends?"

"Yes, sure. We're friends aren't we?" he asked.

She thought about it. "Yes, we're friends." she

said and smiled.

Then she thought about what he'd said earlier. "I know that a lot of stuff has happened to us. To all of us. But we've been lucky, you know? I still have my parents, you've got your entire family. We've got our friends….many people have lost a lot more than an ear." she said, smiling at him.

"Wow 'mione,…didn't know you had it in you." he sniggered.

"But I'm right you know…it's not like during the war anymore. Most of the Death Eaters have either been killed or captured during the final battle. There are just minor criminals left out there. And for Greyback…you know he's in Azkaban."

He nodded. "I know… but it's still hard to think about all that's happened."

she nodded and they fell silent.

Suddenly, the front door flew open and Fred and Angelina stumbled in, laughing.

When they saw them , sitting in silence Fred stared at them , mouth wide open.

"What's wrong?" He asked and walked over to them. Angelina walked up behind him and watched Hermione carefully. "Nothing. Really." Hermione said and smiled at George.

Fred watched them for a few seconds and then decided to let it go.

"AlRIGHT!" he said and flopped down onto the other sofa. "Let's get to the fun part, shall we?"

Hermione looked at him warily. It was always good to be on guard when a Weasley twin was about to have fun.

She looked at George in wonder but he just grinned at her and motioned Fred to continue.

"Soooooo…" Fred started and looked at Hermione with an evil grin. Ever played the Weasley version of truth or dare?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Soooooo…" Fred started and looked at me with an evil grin. "Ever played the Weasley version of truth or dare?"

She swallowed hard. Of course she'd played truth or dare before. But never with the Weasley twins and she was not entirely sure if she wanted to.

"Ahh come on 'Mione. It'll be fun!" George said grinning and Angelina nodded encouragingly.

"Or…" Fred started, smirking. "…are you too afraaaaid?" He asked, stressing the last word, teasingly.

"NO! OF COURSE NOT!" she exclaimed without thinking first. The twins immediately started grinning and she knew she'd walked right into Fred's trap.

"Okay! How does this work?" she asked, not willing to give him the satisfaction of tricking me.

"Great! Alright. You know how people normally play it!" Angelina asked, happily.

"Yes."

"Good so the truth part is just the same. We eat one of Fred and George's truth sticks before we start the game so that nobody will be able to lie."

"Truth sticks? Seriously?" Hermione asked.

"Well…it's a pretty new invention but we haven't come up with a name yet." George admitted.  
"Alright. What about the dare part?" Hermione asked, suddenly curious.

Fred grinned. How could anyone grin that much?

"I'm glad you ask. See we always throw some of our sweets into a bowl, mix them and each time we take dare we've got to take one without looking at them and eat it."

"Seriously?" Hermione asked, shocked. "What if something happens?"

All three of them laughed.

"'Mione…." George said, leaning towards her. "…you know our stuff would never seriously harm anyone."

"At least not most of them." Fred murmured.

"It's alright…" Hermione said, smiling. "I'll just take 'truth' all the time."

George sniggered. "You couldn't do that. You have to alternate."

"And besides…" Angelina said. "You wouldn't want truth all the time anyway. Not when you're playing with those two." She said winking at Fred.

He tousled Angelina's hair and kissed her on the cheek.

Hermione watched them with a weird feeling in my heart and she realised that she was jealous.  
She wanted what they had.

A noise interrupted her thoughts and she looked up to see what it was.

Fred had just put a huge bottle of fire whiskey and a bowl full of sweets onto the table and looked at Hermione expectantly.

"What's the bottle for? It's full!" she asked.

"We always use a full bottle and drink a shot when it's our turn." George said.

She'd never been that much of a drinker. But she didn't want to ruin the thing.

It was not like she was one of those people that drink just because others do it, but she just felt like taking in the entire Weasley-twin fun.

"Okay." she said and they looked at her, shocked.

"Okay?" George asked and Fred just stared at her, mouth wide open.

"Yes. Okay!" she simply said.

When they didn't say anything she said. "WELL… get the truth sticks!" she pushed George up from the sofa, laughing.

He walked over to the kitchen and came back with four black sticks.

They each took one and she put hers into her mouth and chewed. It tasted like liquorice.

By the time she swallowed she fell something warm and tingling moving through my entire body. She shivered.

"Alright!" George said and moved closer to Hermione in order to reach the bottle more easily. She shivered again when his arm slightly brushed against hers.

"Who starts?" Angelina asked and looked around.

"ME!" Fred exclaimed, took the bottle and spun it around on the table.

They all watched it turn until it stopped, pointing towards Hermione.

"Damn!" she exclaimed and they all laughed.

"Here you go 'Mione!" George said and offered me a shot glass.

She filled the glass with fire whiskey and emptied it. She shuddered.

George smirked. "So what will it be? Truth or dare?"

She thought about it. Their questions couldn't be as bad as their pranks could they?  
"Truth!" she said.

Angelina sniggered. "You'll regret that." Hermione looked at George as if he'd tell her that she was joking but he just shook his head and grinned.

She swallowed hard.

"So Hermione…" Fred asked with an evil grin on his face. "What were you're feelings towards George in the past and what are they now?"

Crap. She tried to form an answer that was at least partly honest but she couldn't.

She fell an incredible urge to tell them the truth and, worse, to tell them all there was to tell right now. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Didn't expect them to actually work, did you?" Fred said with a huge smirk on his face. George sniggered and she fell him shaking against her.

She clapped my hands in front of my mouth but somehow, that still didn't stop her from starting to talk.

"Well obviously I always thought that he was a lot of trouble because of all his pranks and stuff but I could never say too much about it because it was really brilliant and I mean,… you have to be really smart to come up with the stuff you guys did…and I also always thought he was pretty hot!"  
She shrieked because of her confession and now clapped both of her hands over her mouth. She turned and looked at George who rose an eyebrow and looked at her in disbelieve. Fred just sniggered and Angelina smiled happily.

Hermione was embarrassed. Reeeaaallyyy embarrassed but she couldn't turn her look from George who just kept staring at her.

"And the second part?" Fred asked, bringing her back to the room.

"What second part?" she asked, not sure what he was talking about.

"Well what about now?"

And, again, she was unable to stop herself from sharing everything she was feeling.

"Well I still think he's reeeally hot, I mean…just look at him." Fred and even Angelina burst into laughter while she continued. "I mean I've never actually gone so far as to consider dating him but not because I don't like him but because I've always had other stuff on my mind and I didn't see him THAT often during our time at Hogwarts and especially not since you guys left Hogwarts.  
But I'm really happy that I got matched with him and not some idiot.  
I think I could have done a looooooot worse than him, don't you think Angelina?"  
Hermione asked and looked at her.

"Wow!" she just stared at Hermione and grinned. "Those sticks really ARE awesome."

Fred laughed.

But Hermione was suddenly horrified. What had she done? She'd told them stuff she hadn't even admitted to myself. And now George knew.  
As if he wasn't already under enough pressure. She still thought that he deserved better than her and now she'd told him that she though he was HOT? Sweet Merlin….  
She slowly turned around and looked at him carefully. He was still staring at her.  
Great. Of course her confession would shock him. Damn truth sticks.

She looked away from him and turned the bottle around. Fred. He grinned.

"Weeeellll, let me think. Truth it'll be." Great…what should I ask him?

He emptied a shot glass and looked at Hermione expectantly. "Well bring it Granger!"

Hmmm…Hermione wanted to pay him back for what he'd just asked her but she honestly didn't know how. To be fair…it was awfully hard to embarrass a Weasley twin.

Suddenly she got an idea.

"What was the worst prank anyone ever played on you?" That caused George and Angelina to burst into laughter. Fred on the other hand turned tomato red but he,too, seemed unable to hold in the answer.

"It was a prank Georgie here played on me. It caused me to think that I was in love with McGonagall. I kept following her and singing love songs out loud for an entire week."

That made Hermione join George's and Angelina's laughter and she fell tears running down her cheeks. She fell back into the sofa and, without even realising it, into George's side.

She couldn't stop laughing. This was simply brilliant.

She wonder why she'd never heard about it. George wrapped his arm around her shoulder and looked at her supposedly worried, but the fact that his body was still shivering from suppressed laughter gave him away.

"You're okay? I didn't mean to make you cry with that."

He rose his hand to her cheek and softly brushed her tears away and the moment his fingers touched her face some sort of warm lightning (yes this sounds cheesy but that's what it fell like) flashed through her entire body and she froze immediately. She was suddenly aware of how close his face was to hers and she found her eyes locking with his and just staring into them. She had totally forgotten that they weren't the only ones in the room. The moment his skin had touched hers the whole room had fallen silent.

He still had his arm around her and his free hand softly caressed her cheek although no tears were left. A shiver ran through her body but it wasn't an unpleasant one.

She saw how his eyes flew to her mouth and he slowly started to move forward when..

"Oi Forge! It's your turn!" Fred's voice broke through the silence and we both practically jumped away from each other. She blushed and looked at George who was slightly red too and glaring at his brother who, surprisingly, hadn't noticed that something was going on.

"SO! What do you take?" he asked George when he didn't do anything.

"Dare!" George said and rubbed his neck in a, could it really be, nervous way?

"Dare? Really Georgie?" Fred asked and looked at his twin in mock shock.  
"Why would you NOT want to be questioned by me?"

"Only a complete idiot would want you to question him if he had any other choice."

He said and then looked at Hermione apologetically. "Sorry 'Mione but you must admit that his question for you was horrible."

She frowned. His question was horrible? Of course it had been horrible for her but she'd never expected him to go as far as to say that it was horrible for him too.

He seemed to read my thoughts in my eyes because he quickly shook his head and moved closer to put his hand on my knee.

Lightning again…what the hell was wrong with her!

"That's not what I meant 'Mione!" He whispered into her ear and she had to give it to him…he sounded sincere. "I meant that I thought it must have been quite…. uncomfortable for you." He smiled and she nodded, relieved.

"Soooo….let's do this." He said, laughing, closed his eyes, picked a sweet from the bowl and put it into his mouth. He chewed and his eyes widened.

"No spitting it out Georgie…you know the rules!" Fred said and grinned at his brother who swallowed, quite bravely, and waited.

Hermione stared at him, surprisingly excited to get a reaction.

Suddenly, a blue dust appeared around him and when it disappeared she jumped away from him and the sofa, letting out a loud scream.

In front of her was sitting no other than Dolores Umbridge.

"It's okay 'Mione!" she said with George's voice and patted on the sofa next to her.

But Hermione wasn't convinced. She looked at Fred and Angelina, still shocked, but they were just laughing at her expression. "It's just the candy Hermione!" Angelina finally managed.

"It makes you turn into the person you hate most." Hermione's eyes widened when she understood she sat down close to Umbr- ähm George in order to examine her (his! his! his!) face.

"This is really fascinating!" she said while moving her finger along Umbridge's chin, feeling slightly disgusted.

Fred laughed. "You should always do stuff like this if it makes her be all over you mate!"

George glared at him and Hermione dropped her hand at once and sat further away from him.

"You know I hate being her!" George exclaimed angrily.

"And I wasn't all over him. I was just interested in the magic you've performed." Hermione added.

"Yeah…right…" Fred murmured and she blushed again.

To change the topic she motioned George to spin the bottle.

He turned it around and it stopped pointing towards – Hermione.

"That's not fair!" She exclaimed. The other three laughed. "It's not supposed to be fair Hermione…that's what the bottle's there for!"

Angelina said and giggled.

"Yeah you're one to talk! It hasn't been your turn yet." Hermione answered and George and Fred sniggered.

"Come on Granger, take one!" Fred said and offered her the bowl.

She looked at it nervously. "Ah 'Mione don't you trust us at all?" George asked and grinned at her.

Hermione closed her eyes and grabbed one piece from the bowl.

Without looking at it she dropped it into her mouth and swallowed it. She waited, but nothing happened.

She turned around and looked at George.

"Ehm…George…isn't something supposed to… you know…happen?"

"Yeah,…it actually should…." he watched her closely. "Are you sure you don't feel any change at all?" she shook her head.

"No. Not at all." George looked at Fred, frowning.

"What do you thing Gred? Did something go wrong with-"

"-don't think so." Fred answered and studied Hermione as well.

"But why is nothing happening to her then?"

Angelina asked.

"I don't know…" Fred admitted. "I keep thinking that there's something I've forgotten, something important but I can't get a hold onto it." He frowned.

"But it's nothing dangerous, right?" Hermione asked him. "I'm not going to…I don't know…my clothes aren't going to simply go invisible the next time I'm walking through Diagon Alley or something like that!"

George laughed. "You'd consider that being dangerous?" Hermione blushed furiously.

"That's not…I didn't…you…I mean…That's not what I meant!" she exclaimed.

George laughed and Fred sniggered. "Relax Hermione! I was just pulling your leg! Nothing bad is going to happen. They didn't put any of the bad one's into the bowl, right Fred?"

Hermione looked at Fred, who nodded.

"Hermione…Georgie's right. Just calm down, okay?"

Hermione nodded reluctantly. She couldn't do anything about it anyway.

"Alright, sorry…." she turned towards the table and leant forwards in order to grab for the bottle which had rolled over towards Angelina's side. Angelina grabbed for it at the same time in order to move it towards Hermione and their hands brushed against each other slightly. The second Hermione's skin touched Angelina's a hot pain ran through her body and into her hand and she pulled her hand back, yelping. She looked up at Angelina who had a shocked expression in her face and rubbed her hand.

She saw how Fred moved closer to Angelina, looking at her with a worried expression on her face. Suddenly, Hermione fell a hand touch her elbow and when she looked to her right she realized it was George who had moved closer as well and now took her hand in his. He rubbed over it gently and looked into her eyes. "Are you alright? What did just happen?" he asked.

"I don't know I touched Angelina by accident and suddenly I fell something hot running through me and into my hand. It really hurt."

George's eyes widened and his head snapped towards Fred. "Freddie…I think I know what that sweet was." Fred looked up at his brother and a silent conversation seemed to go on between them.

Hermione watched, confused, how Fred's eyes grew abnormally big as well.

"Shit!" he exclaimed and his eyes went from George, to Angelina and finally rested on Hermione. "Hermione I'm so sorry." he turned towards Angelina again. "You too Ang!" he started rubbing her back.

"What's going on? What do you mea-"

but Hermione's voice was interrupted when a loud bang came from where Angelina was sitting and they were suddenly all surrounded by black fog.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Hermione heard Angelina stutter and she fell even more confused, What was it that made all of them freak out so much?

She would be given an answer to that pretty soon.

They fog started to fade away and Hermione let out a horrified scream. Instinctively, she moved as far away from Angelina and pressed into the back of the sofa she was sitting on.

She looked at the woman infront of her and started to shake violently.

* * *

Review, review, revieeeew


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_Okay, I know I'm updating more than usual (at once) but I reeeaaally want to know what you think about the chapters sooo review, review, review ;) _

* * *

George couldn't believe that Fred had been that unobservant. He had told him repeatedly to make sure that nothing bad would be in the bowl. What would Angelina turn into? He could only hope that it wouldn't be too bad.  
He couldn't believe that he hadn't realized what the sweet was earlier. During the war, Fred and he had started to invent a more dangerous, or in this case frightening, line of products. Not to use against friends, of course, but against Death Eaters. They had gotten this specific idea from a boggart.

You would eat the sweet and the person you'd touch next would turn into your worst nightmare. Of course, for normal people that wouldn't be too bad. But Hermione wasn't a normal person and he was afraid of what could happen.

He watched the smoke fade away slowly and the moment he was finally starting to make out what Angelina had turned into he heard a scream from his left that froze his entire body momentarily.

He finally managed to turn towards Hermione and saw her pressing into the back of the sofa they were sitting in, shaking violently, a horrified expression on her face. His eyes flew towards where Angelina was sitting and an uncomfortable cold shiver ran through his body. Bellatrix Lestrange.

George reacted without actually thinking about it. He turned towards Hermione immediately. She was shaking violently but besides that she seemed to be unable to move. He lay one arm onto her back and pushed the other one under her genuflexion and pulled her onto his lap. She still didn't do anything but shake and stare at Angelina so George pulled her into his chest, pressing her head against his shoulder. He started stroking her back and whispered into her ear.

"It's alright 'Mione! It's not real okay? She's dead. That's Angelina. She just looks like Lestrange!" He continued whispering soothing words into her ear but she still didn't stop shaking.

George looked at Fred who was watching them with a horrified look on his face. Not because he was scared of 'Bellatrix' but because he was the one who was responsible for the state Hermione was in.

He looked at George with pleading eyes.

Next to him Bellatrix-Angelina wore an equally horrified expression on her face.

"How long?" she just whispered, staring at Hermione. "Can't be much longer. You just brushed against her hand for a few seconds."

Fred said, still staring at George.

With his last words, a small pop sounded through the room and when he looked at her, George saw that Angelina looked herself again. "Look 'Mione…" he whispered and gently pushed a curl, that had fallen into her face, behind her ear. "…she's gone 'Mione."

Slowly, really slowly, Hermione moved her head around and towards Angelina.

She looked at her for a minute and Angelina started shifting uncomfortably.

Then Hermione threw herself into George's chest again and started sobbing violently.

George was shocked. He pulled his arms around her even tighter than he had before and rocked her gently, still rubbing her back.

He looked up at his twin with a helpless expression on his face and saw that Fred was asking himself the same question George was.

What on earth had happened to make Hermione THAT scared of Bellatrix?

He honestly wasn't sure he even wanted to know. Bellatrix had been cruel and insane beyond imagination and the only good thing you could say about her was that she was dead.

Fred saw the helpless expression on his twins face and pulled himself together. He moved up from where he was sitting next to Angelina and walked towards Hermione and George.

He knelt down on the floor infront of them and rubbed Hermione's knee infront of him.

"I'm so sorry Hermione! Really, I didn't plan this you have to believe me. We only threw in things that were harmless. I don't know how it got into it. I'm so sorry. I'd never do that on purpose."

Hermione let out one last sob and George heard her starting to take deep breaths.

She was still holding onto his shirt desperately but she seemed to calm down slowly.

Finally, she turned towards Fred and looked down at him.

"I-It's okay Fred. I know you'd never do something like that on purpose." she whispered. "At least not to someone like me."

she added and Fred chuckled slightly and smiled at her.

George looked down at her and stroke her hair.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, still worried.

She turned her head towards him and looked into his eyes. George could still the tears in them.

"Yes…" she stuttered, her voice still shaking slightly. She took another deep breath.

"Yes it's alright. I know it wasn't really her. It's just….bad memories….it's really okay George."

George felt the urge to ask her about those memories but he didn't dare to. He was afraid she'd break down again and he wanted her to feel better. Not worse.

Hermione suddenly seemed to recognize where she was sitting. Her eyes widened and she blushed furiously. She entwined her fingers from George's shirt and pushed herself off his lap. "I'm sorry." she murmured with a red face.

"Don't apologize for something like that 'Mione!" George said softly.

Hermione nodded and sat down on the couch again.

"So…shall we go on?" she asked and looked at the other three.

"Ehm I don't think we should keep playing Hermione." Angelina said, carefully.

"You're pretty upset." Fred nodded.

"We really don't have to continue."

"I know." Hermione said and George saw how a determined expression appeared on her face. "I know we don't have to, but I don't want to ruin the evening and besides, it'll take my mind off it."

George looked her over for a while and finally nodded.

"Okay…let's get this started."

About two hours later they were still playing the game, but theyd changed the rules a bit.

After having emptied a few shots of fire whiskey Fred had decided that spinning the bottle was taking too much time. So George had decided that they'd just skip the spinning, take turns in daring or asking the questions and drinking the fire whiskey.

They had already emptied their third bottle and Hermione fell her head spin but that might've also been from the time she had to puke because of one of the sweets or because another one currently caused her to run around the sofas in circles.

She was finally able to stop it and when she tried to stand still in hope that the room would stop spinning around her she fell onto the sofa and practically into George.

He just put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards his side, grinning.

'Oh who am I kidding,…we're all drunk!' she thought when she looked from George to the others.

Somehow, right then, she didn't care.

Angelina and Fred were giggling and snogging on the other sofa, completely oblivious that they were still playing truth or dare.

Hermione turned in George's arm and looked up at him.

"Well it's your turn Georgie, isn't?" she asked and grinned at him. He smirked and took a huge sweet out of the bowl. He studied it.

"Hey!" Hermione exclaimed and made Angelina and Fred look up. "You're not z-zupposed to look at 'em!" Fred sniggered.

"Look at our little prefect Georgie. Drunk but still on the rule-obeying trip."  
George laughed. "'remember what this is?" he asked and showed the sweet to Fred. "I don't."

"Am not!" Hermione exclaimed and glared at Fred be fore he could answer. Apparently, she didn't have any manners when she was drunk as well.

"What? Drunk or on the rule-obeying trip?" He asked.

Hpf….to be honest…."On the rule-obeying trip." she said and he grinned even wider.

"Prove it!"

She looked at him confused. "How?"

"Well…we don't know what that does." He said and nodded towards the sweet in George's hand. "But it's big enough for both of you, share it."

Hermione grinned and nodded. So George split the candy in two and offered her one half of it. She took it, grinned at him and when he nodded they both dropped it into their mouths and started to chew.

"Thiz iz sooo weird." she said when her feet started to tingle.

"Yeah…" George agreed and swallowed the rest of his half. "It kinda feels like there are ants in your-" he stopped and looked at Fred in shock.

"YOU DIDN'T!" Fred nodded and smirked. "Yes I did."

Angelina just looked at them confused. Hermione was about to say something when her mind started to get fuzzy and the warm tingle spread through her entire body.

She barely saw Fred grinning at them when George turned around and looked down at her.

Hermione looked up at him and suddenly the tingling faded and made room for an incredible, uncontrollable heat that burned inside every streak of her body. He really WAS bloody hot!

She lost track of what was happening around them when George fixed his eyes on hers.

She didn't even realise that Fred whispered something towards Angelina and that they both stood up, grinning, and walked over to one of the doors and into the room behind it.

The heat in her body reached a nearly unbearable point and she leaned up towards George at the same moment he leaned down towards her.

She fell his lips brush over hers softly and she shivered slightly.

He tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her towards him so that she was sitting on his lap, facing him.

He started caressing her cheek with one hand and stroke the hair out off her face with the other. She could barely breathe.

She grabbed into his hair and pulled him towards her.

When, finally, their lips were only millimetres away from each other he pressed his lips softly against hers and kissed her and joy ran through her entire body.

She fell his arm around her back and moments later he pulled her against him.

She threw one of her arms around his shoulders to press herself even closer to him and stroke through his hair with the other.

She shivered at the feeling of his lips against hers. They were gently and soft.

She felt his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth and she granted it at once.

His tongue found hers and they started kissing more urgently than before.

She slid back onto the sofa, not breaking the kiss, and pulled him with him until she lay down on it and he ended up on top of her.

He pulled away from her, held himself up on an elbow and looked down at her and straight into her eyes.

Whatever he'd been looking for he must have found it because the next second he was kissing her again, more passionately than before.

She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him against her, not caring about his weight, just to feel his entire body pressed against hers.

He groaned and started nibbling at her bottom lip. She sighed and ran her hands down his neck. She fell his lips moving away from hers and nibbling their way from her chin, along her jaw line and towards her ear.

She let her hands slid under his shirt and over his bare back. He shuddered slightly at her touch and she pulled his shirt up towards his arms.

He broke away from her, pulled it over his head and threw it to the ground.

She looked at his bare chest for a moment and grinned. Who would have thought that he'd have a body like THAT?

He moved back on top of her and she gasped when she fell his lips on her neck.

She continued sliding her hands over his back until he reached her collar bone.

"Hang on" Hermione murmured and pushed him away slightly to pull off her pullover.

He smirked and she pulled him down to her again. Her skin burned like hot iron when the (in her case partially) naked upper parts of their bodies pressed against each other for the first time.

He started peppering feather light kisses down her collar bone and towards her breasts.

A soft moan escaped her lips and she fell him smile against her skin.

She pulled him towards her face again, not being able to stand it any longer and kissed him more passionately than she'd ever kissed someone before. She let her tongue slide along his lip teasingly and -

suddenly he was pulled away from her roughly and he fell onto the ground.

She looked up to see what had happened and immediately grabbed her pullover from the floor when she saw five faces staring down at them.


	13. Chapter 13

_Hey guys. I already posted three chapters today, but I couldn't help but post chapter number 13 as well. Why? Well because this is by far my favourite chapter so far, it's also more than twice as long as some of the others. I don't mean to sound stupid or too sure of myself or something, but I really love it and I hope you'll like it as well.  
This is the last time I'll warn you and remind you that I DO LIKE TO MAKE RON LOOK BAD. Just saying...hope you're getting the hint xD_

* * *

**Chapter 13**

****Not (as it sometimes is) a quote from a book or film here but a moment I'm kind of shocked about myself... just found myself saying: "See that's the thing...you can say a lot of things about Death Eaters and the twins, but one thing's for sure: It sure as hell never get's boring with them!"

Not sure what to think of myself now :D

* * *

George looked up and saw Ron, Harry, Ginny, Angelina and Fred standing next to the sofa, staring at them.

The expressions on their faces varied from embarrassment (Harry), over shock (Ginny and Angelina) and a huge grin (Fred) to fury (Ron).

It was obvious that Ron had been the one who'd pulled him away from Hermione.

Hermione…what the hell had just happened? He looked up at the place where she was sitting, pressing her pullover against her chest and he swallowed hard when he saw the look on her face that showed about the same emotions he was feeling.

Embarrassment, shock and confusion.

"WHAT THE HELL HAS JUST HAPPENED HERE?" Ron barked at them.

George frowned, not liking the tone in his brothers voice. But before he could say anything, Fred skipped in. "Well I guess it's pretty obvious isn't it Ronnie? George and Hermione have been making out on the sofa." he said and grinned at George proudly.

Ron turned redder and redder each second.

"I KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING! ACTUALLY…" he shouted and turned towards Ginny and Harry "I'VE KNOWN THIS ALL ALONG! DIDN'T I TELL YOU THEY WERE MAKING OUT BEHIND MY BACK? DIDN'T I?"

Harry and Ginny just stared at them, apparently not sure what to say.

Then, Hermione's silent voice rang through the room.

"That's complete nonsense Ron, we've just…" she started, but Ron interrupted her.

"YOU'VE JUST WHAT? I KNEW IT! I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON WHY YOU BROKE UP WITH ME!" he growled and glared at Hermione and George.

"Ron…there hasn't been anything going on until tonight." Hermione said and George was surprised at how calm her voice was.

But Ron didn't seem to care. " HAH! EVEN IF THAT'S THE CASE…." he mumbled incomprehensible stuff before shouting at her again.

"I SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED THOUGH SHOULD I? I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT YOU'D THROW YOURSELF AT THE NEXT BEST POSSIBILITY YOU'D GET! LOOK AT YOU, MAKING OUT WITH MY BROTHER…THAT'S PATHETIC!"

George saw tears building up in Hermione's eyes and he was on his feet in seconds.

He glared at Ron, now furious too, and slowly walked towards him.

"SHE'S pathetic? SHE?" George barked, growling at his brother.

From the corner of his eye he saw Fred and Harry moving past their fiancées and towards them, apparently noticing the rising tension in the room.

But apparently, Ron didn't. He just looked at George and laughed.

"Seriously George? Look at her. I mean it's obvious isn't it? She's just throwing herself at the next guy she's able to get after me and, to your loss, that's you George."

His words made George shake with anger and when he felt Fred's hand on his shoulder he shook it off and took one more step towards Ron.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT ABOUT HER AGAIN!" he shouted at him.

Ron looked at George, surprised for a moment, but then his features hardened.

"Aaah,…." he said. "THAT's how it's going to be is it? But I have to warn you Georgie… she normally is a big prude. She might have made out with you, but you're not going to get anything else from her. And she's a really annoying know-it-all despite that.

I already feel sorry for the guy who'll have to marry her some day."

Then he gasped in mock surprise. "But riiight!" he pretended to smack himself onto the forehead. "How could I forget? That's going to be you pretty soon Georgie, isn't it?" He laughed and George fell Fred's hand tighten around his shaking arm.

"You know…" Ron said with an annoying grin on his face. "…you can actually have her…I neither want nor need her anymore anyway!"

After his last words, a few things happened at once. George heard a heartbreaking sob coming from the sofa which made the anger boiling inside of him uncontrollably.

He shook off Fred's arm and threw himself at Ron and punched him fair in the face.

Seconds after that, he was pulled away from him by Fred and Angelina. When he looked up he saw Ron lying on the floor, holding his left eye and Harry struggling with a furious Ginny who'd apparently tried to hit Ron as well.

Ron looked up at George and sniggered and George threw himself against Fred's and Angelina's arms to get to him again.

"Get that idiot out off here!" Fred barked at Harry and Ginny. "Before I do it myself and I doubt mum would like that!" he growled and glared at Ron, apparently seriously considering letting George have his way with him.

Harry nodded and leaned towards Ginny's still furious face and whispered something into her ear. She nodded and although she still seemed to be angry she took a deep breath and she and Harry pulled Ron to his feet and pushed him towards the door and out off the flat. Harry looked back at the others sadly and murmured a quick 'sorry' before leaving the flat and closing the door behind him.

When the door had closed behind them, Angelina let go of George immediately and moved to the sofa to sit down next to Hermione.

But Fred didn't let go of George right away.

George stood there in complete silence, staring at the front door, until Fred turned him around to face him.

"You' alright mate?" he asked, looking both, angry and worried.

"Do I look alright to you?" George asked and he shook his head.

"Georgie….forget him. We've known he's a complete idiot since he was what….one day old?" he whispered so that only George could hear him.

George laughed half-heartedly. "Less than that I think." he answered and Fred grinned, happily. "See,….that's my favourite twin." He said and messed up George's hair.

George looked over his shoulder and saw Angelina with one arm around a shaking Hermione who had, at some point during the fight, managed to put her pullover back on.

Fred saw the worried look on his twins face. "Want us to leave you guys alone?" he asked and George nodded, once again grateful, that they never actually needed words to know what the other one was thinking.

"Thanks."

He exchanged one look with Angelina and she stood up and they both walked to Fred's room and closed the door behind them.

George walked towards the sofa and sat down next to her. She looked miserable, sitting there, with her legs pressed against her body, eyes wide open and shaking.

He put my arm around her and pulled her towards his side.

Her head shot up when she realised someone touched her but when she realised it was George she simply buried her face in his chest and started crying.

It sounds horrible, but that motion made George both, incredibly happy and sad, at the same time.

He was happy because she was glad that he was the one who wanted to comfort her and because she didn't pull away from him like he'd expected her to.

But he was also incredibly sad because for the second time that night, he saw her break down and to be honest, it broke his heart.

He didn't know when he'd started to like her that much, the only thing he knew was that he never wanted her to be that unhappy again. Not if he could do something about it.

All the fogginess and drunkenness from before had disappeared completely.

He stroke her hair while she cried and sobbed into his chest uncontrollably.

He started making soothing circles on her back and whispered soothing words into her ears until she, finally, started to calm down again.

She looked up at him with tears all over her face and, as cheeky and girlish as it sounded, he'd never seen her more beautiful than right then.

He gently whipped the tears from her cheeks and smiled down at her.

"I-I'm so sorry!" she stuttered and turned bright pink. "Th-this is s-so embarrassing! I keep breaking down on you."

George shook his head. "Don't be embarrassed 'Mione. There's no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed. At least not for you!" he added with a small growl.

"B-But you heard what he said-" she started but George just pressed his index finger against her lips to stop her and pulled her onto his lap.

She seemed to be hesitant for a moment but then she relaxed and rested her head against his chest.

"I know what he said." George said and fell her tense against him. So he started rubbing her back and continued.

"BUT…I don't think he's right." He ignored her sceptical look on his face and went on.

"Fred and I have known Ron his entire life 'Mione and he's always been a git.

I know you keep saying that he CAN be different and I know he can, but I also know that he hardly ever is. I know that he can be brave and courageous and gentle and kind and all that stuff if he wants to and when other people are in danger, but Hermione, even you have to admit that he's acting like the biggest jerk the other 80 percent of the time." She silently laughed into his chest and he smiled.

"I know…" she finally said. "I know all that George and, over the past two weeks, I've realised what a big foul I've been over the last years and that I rather liked the idea of the two of us than actually being with him it's just…." she sighed "I just feel so stupid for having a thing for him for all those years,…" she swallowed hard "for actually thinking that I was in love with him. Because now I know I wasn't really…and all the things he said tonight….I-I'm…" she trailed off.

"You're what?" he asked and stroke her cheek gently.

"I….I'm scared you think there's some truth in what he said. Tha-That I'm just a prude and that I won't …." she swallowed, unable to explain any further but he knew what she was talking about. He frowned, angry at Ron for saying those things, especially in front of her.

He brought up his hand towards her chin and made her look into his eyes.

"'Mione….I promise I don't think he's right about anything he said! I know that things will be difficult in the beginning but we'll get used to each other in time and, to be honest…" he grinned at her "…I think we already proved that we can be quite comfortable around each other tonight." She blushed furiously but didn't look away.

"Amen to that!" Fred's voice came from behind them and George felt Hermione trying move from his lap immediately. He tightened my grip around her to keep her where she was.

"Hey Freddie!" he said and smiled at him when he sat down next to them.

"Is there anything you wanted?" He grinned. "Nah,…Ang just wanted me to check on the two of you. Wanted me to make sure you wouldn't be all over each other again."

"I did not say that!" Angelina's voice rang over from Fred's room.

He laughed silently. "Right,…might have added that myself." He looked at Hermione, still curled up in George's lap and smiled at George, happily.

"You have to admit….despite the Ronnie incident, my plan worked out pretty well, didn't it?" That made Hermione look up.

"Your plan?" she asked confused.

George sniggered and pushed one of her locks behind her ear. "Yes his 'plan'. You remember how I couldn't remember what the sweet I took from the bowl was?"

She nodded. "Well my dear brother here DID remember what it was which is why he got you to eat half of it." Fred grinned at them.

"Why?" she asked, still confused.

"Well…" George started, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"You remember how we were suddenly all over each other?"

She nodded and her eyes widened in shock. She pulled away from George's chest slightly and glared at Fred. "YOU GAVE US SWEETS THAT WOULD MAKE US MAKE OUT?"

George was taken aback by the anger in her voice but Fred just smiled at her calmly.

"Nanana Hermione….it wasn't exactly like that. First of all 'I' didn't give you anything. Georgie here took it and you ate the second part willingly. Also….the sweets don't 'make you make out', like you said."

She looked at George and he nodded. "That's right. They don't."

Now she looked confused. "But if they don't…." she started but was interrupted by Fred who was wearing an enormous grin on his face.

"They make the people who eat them express or give in to the feelings they have for a person." He looked at George, quite pleased at himself and George had to give him that. His plan HAD been brilliant. Okay….George had not been aware that he already fell so much for her, but he hadn't been aware that she had feelings for him either.

"But….that would mean that…" Hermione started, confusion written all over her face.

"That would mean that you…and me…and…" she stopped and looked at first Fred, then at me. Fred sniggered. "It would mean that I'm brilliant because otherwise it would have take you two ages to figure out that you're into each other."

"But Fred!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed. "That..that stuff could have made us … I mean we were … are you sure it's working the way you think it is? I mean it could have -exaggerated…" Fred laughed and George had to press his hand into his mouth to stop himself from joining in.

"Hermione…this is really cute, but I'm afraid it IS working the way I think it is. You know…we invented it. We tested it on various people whose feelings we knew!"

"But…we were.."

"Totally over each other?" he helped her and she nodded, blushing furiously.

This not-laughing thing was getting harder and harder every minute. She really was adorable.

"Well….I'm sorry to bring it to you Hermione but, as shocked as you might be, the candy doesn't make you do anything you wouldn't want to do anyway. It just makes your fears and … well …" he sniggered slightly "… it makes you let your hair down.

You two just acted on your deepest urges and well, it seems like you aren't as unhappy to be engaged as everyone thought."

"That…that's rubbish!" She exclaimed. "I'm sure that's not true. I mean…how do you know it isn't just a coincidence. It could just have the same effect on everyone and simply make everyone make out. You could have just interpretated it wrong."

George's hard sank into his stomach. She was right. It could be possible. He knew that he really had some feelings towards Hermione but what about her? They really could have interpretated it wrong and that would mean that she didn't have any feelings towards him. He had hardly ever felt that bad before.

But Fred simply grinned at them.

"Smart as always, but not smart enough. I can see how you wouldn't want to admit it, but I'm afraid that the sweets DO what we think they do." George stared at his twin.

"You see…" Fred continued, still grinning.

"Do you have any idea how long you've been making out?" he asked and while Hermione simply shook her head George's face lit up and he beamed at his brother uncontrollably.

"You mean…" he started and Fred nodded.

"You made out for nearly half an hour."

"But what does that have to do with-" Hermione started, but an eager Fred interrupted her.

"You see the sweet wears off after 10 minutes….if you eat the entire thing. Since you only ate half of it it would have worn off after five minutes. So if you think you're not into Georgie here….how do you explain the fact that the two of you were still making out 25 minutes after it stopped having an effect on you? I also kinda doubt that you started undressing each other right away…the sweet isn't THAT strong."

"Oh my…" Hermione gasped and buried her face in George's chest again.

"…this is so embarrassing." she murmured and Fred and George both laughed.

"Don't worry 'Mione!" Fred said and patted her on the back. "I've seen George in more embarrassing situations than you could ever imagine." He joked, but looked at George happily. It was obvious that he was glad that the two of them were (OBVIOUSLY!) not that unwilling to be with each other after all.

He stood up, said goodnight and walked back to his room.

When George heard the door close behind him he looked down at Hermione who still had her face buried into his chest which, he can't believe he hadn't noticed that before, was still shirtless.

"You know,…he's right it's really not THAT embarrassing 'Mione. I actually enjoyed it a lot." he said, chuckling.

She looked up and tried to glare at him. "This isn't funny George. They all saw us!"

"What's so bad about that?" he asked. "We're getting married in nearly three weeks.  
I think a little bit of snogging is allowed."

"We were half naked!" she shrieked and George heard Fred and Angelina laughing in his room.

He grabbed his wand from the table and cast a muffliato onto the door.

After that he looked back at her and frowned. "Well…I'm not that happy about that part either."

he admitted and started to play with her hair. "I mean, don't get me wrong I wasn't that unhappy about the half-naked part, but about them seeing you half naked."

She suddenly grinned at him. "Weren't you huh?"

He chuckled. "No,…not particularly. Not because of Fred and Harry to be honest….Fred was too busy laughing and Harry was so embarrassed that I don't think he actually dared to look at you properly."  
She nodded. "So that just leaves Ron…unless you're unhappy with Ginny and Angelina seeing me like that. Because if that was the case I would have to disappoint you. Ginny has seen me in far less than trousers and a bra."

She clapped her hand on her mouth, obviously shocked at her own words.

George laughed softly. "I think there might still be some of the truth-stick left. It's rather strong and we made it so it wouldn't be affected by alcohol."

She nodded.

"However….I just meant Ron." George said and looked at her face.

"I know." She simply said and smiled. Damn….he already wanted to push her down onto the sofa and kiss her senseless again.

He shook his head slightly and thought of what he wanted to say.

"You know…you don't have to talk about it, but what was that fight between you and Ron about? You know the one after which you broke up with him. I mean, I've got my theory, but I'd like to hear your version."

She shifted in his lap, uncomfortably, but didn't move away.

"No,…I want to tell you…." she started and looked into his eyes. "…I mean we have to start talking about stuff, don't we?" he nodded.

"I ehm…Ron…Ron fell like it was time to…ehm…get more physical." she stated and blushed again. She did a lot of that lately….

"You mean he wanted to have sex?" George asked, although he'd already expected that before. She just nodded.

"And you haven't…over the last year…? I mean you've been dating for a year."

She suddenly glared at him.

"So you think I was being a prude too?" she asked and tried to get off his lap, but he didn't let her.

"No! Of course that's not what I meant. I just thought that,…well you seemed to be quite in love and you HAVE been dating for a year and…" he mumbled, suddenly feeling stupid for letting the conversation go that way.

She sighted. "It's okay. I mean I know that a year is quite some time. And it's not like there aren't other people around who have…." she trailed off and George didn't feel like asking her who she'd been talking about. The chances that it were Ginny and Harry were too big and hell… he didn't need that mental image in his head!

"…but…" she continued and looked at him "…it's not like we've actually dated that entire year, George." he looked at her, confused. How could you date without dating?

"Well when I got back to Hogwarts he hardly ever wrote and he hardly ever came to any of the Hogsmead weekends. He kept saying that he was too busy with Auror training and that he was really sorry about it but since Harry managed to write to Ginny every day and visit her on every free weekend, I stopped believing him after a while. I just saw him on Christmas and on about two other weekends since September." She said with a firm tone in her voice.

"So tell me…do you think that's been a lot of dating?"

"No…" he just said, taken aback. As mentioned before, he knew that Ron's was idiot. But he'd never imagined him to be SUCH an idiot.

"And then the first thing he does after finally seeing you again is trying to shag you?"

He heard himself ask.

"Yep…" she said and smiled sarcastically. "And it gets even better."

He rose an eyebrow.

"Do you know WHERE he wanted to…do it?" he shook my head.

"In the broom shed." she replied, dryly.

"IN THE WHAT?" he couldn't believe it. That guy really was unbelievable.

"Quite romantic, isn't it?" she said. "Exactly how I imagined my first time to be like."

He looked down at her face and fixed her eyes with hers.

"Your first time?" he asked, softly.

She nodded and, surpriiiiseeee, blushed again. He let his fingertips run over her cheek.

"You know that's nothing to be embarrassed about, right?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I know…it's just…I don't like talking about stuff like that,…I'm not comfortable with it." she admitted.

He smiled at her. "I've noticed." She shove him slightly and he laughed.

"Why aren't you though? Not comfortable I mean…"

"I guess it's because I don't have any experience … it's not something you can learn from books you know." she said. "I mean, of course I know the theory and all that but…" she mumbled and he burst into laughter.

"What's so funny about that?" She asked, confused and obviously embarrassed.

He pulled her against his chest again and buried his face in her hair, still chuckling.

"It's just that I just imagined a twelve year old version of you asking Madame Pince for books on sex." Now she was chuckling too.

"I did not do that!" she said and he moved his face from her hair and started striking it instead.

After a while she said, "You know we'll eventually have to…" she trailed off again.

He sighed. "We don't HAVE to do anything if we don't want to 'Mione."

"But that's what the law was made for George."

"That doesn't mean that they can force us into having sex if we don't want to.

It's not like they'll be watching us every second of the day and keep record of what we're doing or not doing. And besides that,…that decree never said anything specific about having sex or children."

He fell her nod. "I know…I was actually surprised about that, you know? They put so much effort into the law so that nobody would be able to get around the marriage and then they don't mention anything about,…well sex or actually having children? It just seems strange don't you think?"

"Yeah." He said, feeling relieved that they could finally actually talk about this stuff without too much blushing and stuttering from her side. "Maybe they knew that they wouldn't be able to watch every married couple in the country 24/7. Just stop thinking about it. Like I said they won't be able to force us into anything like that anyway because they won't be able to control it."

"Yeah…" she said but she still didn't sound convinced.

"So how did you like your first evening with the Weasley twins?" George asked her to change the subject and grinned at her.

"Weeeellll…" she said and pretended to be bored. "…it wasn't thaaaat bad. Could've been more exciting I guess."

She smirked at him mischievously.

"Is that so?" he asked. "Well I guess we'll have to do something about you're boredom then, won't we?" he asked and grinned at her.

Her eyes widened when she saw the expression on his face and she tried to pull away from me. "Whatever you're thinking about George, don't you da-"

he threw her onto the sofa next to him and started tickling her mercilessly.

She shrieked a struggled beneath him until she finally stopped trying to get her off her and instead decided to distract him.

He felt a hand on his neck and before he realised what was going on she'd already pulled him towards her and started to kiss him passionately.

He felt her grin against his lips when he immediately stopped tickling her.

Damn…she was good.

* * *

As usual, I would LOVE to read some reviews. Okay we all know I'm lying here...I won't post another chapter until I get some reviews. :D And believe me, this time I WILL be able not to post because I already posted my favourite chapter :D  
Btw...again, thank you for all the reviewing and adding and stuff.

~Emjezz xD


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you for all your reviews! Wow, I never got 10 reviews for one single chapter and just overnight I will reply to those who reviewed at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

She woke up by the clapping of plates and people talking silently.

That was weird. Why were they people with plates in Ginny's bedroom?

She moved slightly and felt something strange underneath her hands, but she still didn't open her eyes.

Suddenly, that something moved underneath her and he opened his eyes quickly.

There she was, lying half way on George's bare chest and half way on the sofa of their flat, her arm on his chest, feeling one of his wrapped around her waist.

She looked towards his face and found him smiling at her tiredly.

"'Morning!" a loud voice exclaimed and when she looked up she found Fred standing behind the sofa, grinning at the two of them.

"'Slept good?" he asked and smirked. She groaned.

"What time is it?" George asked.

"Seven. Ang and I are just making breakfast, so if you can manage to take your hands off each other for a few minutes …" he gestured towards the kitchen.

"Right,…" Hermione said, suddenly realising that she was still partly lying on top of George.

She sat up and climbed off the sofa.

George got up too and looked at her enquiringly.

"Do you want to have some breakfast or…" she nodded.

"But if you don't mind I'd like to fresh up before or something….I've got to get to the Ministry soon and I don't actually feel like running into your mum right now."

He chuckled. "Understandable. Well come with me then."

He walked towards the second of the two doors, opened it and walked into the room behind it.

"Well…it's not THAT cleaned up I guess…didn't expect anyone besides me to see this." He said and grinned down at her.

Hermione looked around. There was a double bed standing against the right wall of the room and a dresser next to the door.

On the left side was a wardrobe and behind that, another door.

On the opposite side was a huge window and a small sofa below it.

The walls were painted in Gryffindor red and despite the clothes that were lying on the bed and the sofa she couldn't deny that it looked,….homie.

George walked towards the second door and opened it. "Well here we are."

He said and smiled at her again. She walked towards him and looked through the door.

It was a small bathroom.

"There a fresh towels in the shelf and…well…if you need anything just let me know."

She thanked him and walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

She walked towards the mirror and looked at herself.

Oh Merlin….

She looked horrible. All that crying really hadn't done her any good and her hair stood off into all directions.

She'd actually planed on just freshing up but now the thought of taking a shower was awfully tempting.

She thought about it for a second and came to the conclusion that George wouldn't mind.

After taking a quick shower and drying herself she looked at her clothes in front of her and frowned. She couldn't really go to work in her jeans and a pullover.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door.

"Hermione?" Angelina's voice came from the other side. "It's me, Angelina. I was just wondering if you'd want to borrow one of my cloaks for work. I always keep some in Fred's wardrobe in case I stay over."

"Yeah I'd love that, hang on." she put her trousers and her pullover on quickly and opened the door. She walked inside and closed the door behind her again.

"Here you are." She said, smiling, and handed her a black cloak.

"I'm sure it'll be a little bit too large for you but I'm sure you can fix that.

"Yes, sure. Thanks." Hermione said and pulled the cloak over her head. It really was too long.

She took her wand from the deposition above the sink and fixed the length.

"Perfect!" Angelina said. "Now…I figure that hair of yours is always a lot of work, right?" she asked and looked at it.

She sighed. "Yes, but I've kind of gotten used to it by now. I've had it for over nineteen years after all you know?" Hermione said and smiled at the girl in front of her.

Angelina chuckled. "That you have but you know there are some pretty easy spells that make it a lot easier, you know…."

"I do, but I never actually thought about learning them." Hermione admitted.

"Well I can teach you how to do it now if you want to!" she nodded.

"Alright sit down there." Angelina said and pointed towards a stool.

While slowly working on Hermiones hair with her wand she started to talk again.

"So…you and George…" Hermione groaned inwardly. She should have seen that one coming.

But on the other hand…she needed to talk to someone about the whole thing.

Normally she'd talk to Ginny. But George was her brother and that would be just too weird. And who'd be better than Angelina? She'd been dating Fred for years…

"What about us?" she finally decided to answer.

"How are things going?" Angelina asked.

"Not too bad I guess." Hermione said and tried to hide a grin, but of course, she'd seen it.

"Yes I think that was pretty obvious for half of the Weasley family." she said and chuckled.

Hermione just blushed. Why couldn't she just stop doing that?  
"To be honest…" Angelina said and stopped working on her hair for a minute.

"…I wouldn't have expected this to work out so quickly." Hermione looked at her, confused.

"I mean…" she quickly said and went back to her hair "…don't get me wrong I don't have anything against you, I really like you it's just that you and George are really different! At least in things that people can easily see."

"I know…"

"But I was sure you'd fall for him eventually." she simply said.

Hermione shook her head. "First of all,…I haven't fallen for him and …. don't you think you might just be a little bit biased there? You're going to marry his twin after all."

She chuckled. "Yes I might be…." she trailed off.

After a few seconds she asked. "But you're on the best way…aren't you?"

"Best way to what?"

"Falling for him."

Hermione thought about it. It had only been a few days since she'd found out that she'd have to marry him. You couldn't fall for someone in just a few days, she was sure of that.

But then again,..last night…she knew it hadn't just been the alcohol and the sweet.

"I think you're right." she finally admitted. "That's not a bad thing is it?"

"Why would that be a bad thing? I think it's brilliant Hermione. I mean you ARE going to marry him in a few weeks."

"I know, it's just…don't you think he's unhappy or something because he has to marry me?"

She sighed. "You're still going on about that?" Hermione looked up at her, confused.

"Fred heard you near the lake, remember? He told me about it."

"Heard? More eavesdropped if you ask me." Hermione murmured but Angelina just ignored it.

"We all know that the two of you had never considered even dating each other, Hermione. But you said it yourself. That wasn't because you didn't like each other but because the thought never crossed your mind. You're friends. That's more than many people who got matched have. And if you ask me, you're even more than that, judging from what we've seen last night.  
And for George. He knows that both of you could have done a whole lot worse.

And other than that, I didn't see him pull away yesterday, did you?"

"No…" she admitted slowly.

"And I'm sure HE was the one who got furious when Ron said all that stuff about you and I'm also quite sure that HE was the one who punched his own brother because of you, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but…" Hermione started but Angelina didn't let her continue.

She stepped in front of Hermione and looked down at her.

"Hermione, I've known George for years. Even before Fred and I started dating and when I say that I know him, I mean that I REALLY know him.

He's a good guy. I know he can be a handful when it comes to all their jokes and pranks, but that's just the way he is. He is full of joy and he always felt that he had to share that with everyone around him. Especially in the last few years.

But he'd never purposely hurt you or something like that, Hermione. If he didn't like you, he'd tell you trust me. I've seen the two of them turn down enough girls in the last years." She chuckled as if she was remembering something. "They might be a lot of things, but they are neither liars nor cowards. I thought you should know that."

Hermione looked up at her in awe. It really had been the right decision to talk to her.

"Soooo….we're ready by the way." Angelina said and Hermione stood up and looked into the mirror.

She gasped. Her hair was still curly, but nothing compared to the mess it always looked like. Now, the curls were gently falling down her back without standing off too much.

She turned around and beamed at Angelina.

"Thanks Ang!" she said and she smiled.

"You're welcome." She opened the door and when they walked into the kitchen and set down next to Fred and George Hermione could have sworn that she'd heard the latter whisper a silent "Thank you" towards Angelina.

They'd just started breakfast when Hermione heard a tapping noise. She looked around and saw two owls sitting outside the next window. Angelina quickly got up from her chair closest to it and opened the window.

The two owls flew towards them and dropped two envelopes onto the table. One in front of Fred and the other in front of George. Then they left through the window.

"What's this?" Fred asked and picked up his letter.

"To Mr. George Weasley and Ms Hermione Granger." George read out loud and looked at Fred.

"Yep….to Mr. Fred Weasley and Ms Angelina Johnson." He read. "What do you think this is?" He asked and looked at the others.

"Only one way to find out isn't it?" George asked and opened the letter.

Hermione leant towards him and he held the unfolded paper so that both of them could read it.

_Dear Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger._

_We hereby inform you about the second clause of Ministry Decree 307 that has, out of good reasons, not been mentioned before._

_As you are aware by now, the decree has gone into effect because of the decreasing number of witches and wizards in Great Britain._

_It is obvious, that a simple marriage ceremony will not change that fact, however reproduction will._

_The second part of Ministry Decree 307 orders each married couple to have intercourse on a regular basis and to give birth within the next two years._

_Couples will be expected to have at least two children of which the second one will have to be born within at least four years._

_This clause hasn't been mentioned before due to the possibility of mass-escapes which, after the conducted test, can no longer happen without being tracked immediately._

_Please know that any violation of Ministry Decree 307 will be punished by imprisonment._

_Should you have further questions, please feel free to contact the ministry representative that has been assigned to your family._

_Respectfully, Gideon Edgecombe, Ministry of Magic_

Hermione looked up from the letter and saw Fred and Angelina staring at them in shock.

"They…they can't just say…they can't just tell us…WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?" Angelina exclaimed angrily.

"They can't just tell us to…what was it?" she looked at the letter again "_to have intercourse on a regular basis_. That's sick!" She looked at the three of them angrily as if they had been the one's who'd made that decree. "And did you read this?" she started again.

"…_and to give birth within the next two years. Couples will be expected to have at least two children of which the second one will have to be born within at least four years.' _I FEEL LIKE A BLOODY DELIVERY MASHINE!"

She plopped back into her seat, tears of anger building in her eyes.

Fred didn't look any better. He glared at the envelope in front of them and started swearing profoundly.

After a few minutes they seemed to recognise that George and Hermione were in the room too.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Fred asked and eyeballed them.

"Well it's not that much of a surprise is it?" Hermione stated and looked at George who nodded.

"NOT MUCH OF A SURPRISE?" Angelina shrieked.

Fred took her hand in his and started rubbing it's back to calm her down.

He looked at Hermione. "What do you mean it's not much of a surprise?"

But it was George who answered his question.

"Well think about it Freddie. They put a decree into effect because there are so little wizards and witches left. What did you expect that would mean for us? That we'd just have to get married and that that would be it? Of course there'd be more to it. Why would we have to get married? Obviously because it's, in there eyes, only decent for married people to have sex and why would people have to have sex? Because we need babies to increase the numbers of witches and wizards again.

Simple as that." He stated.

Fred looked at him in awe. "If you explain it like that it's pretty simple."

"Of course it is Freddie, everything is simple when someone explains it to you!" he smirked at his brother.

"Did you just come up with that right now?" Angelina asked George, obviously still surprised.

"No…not exactly…" George said and flashed Hermione a glance, smiling.

"We've been talking about it yesterday and 'Mione thought it was weird that they hadn't mentioned anything like that (he nodded towards the envelope) yet."

Hermione smiled back at him, suddenly really liking the sound of 'we'.

Fred grinned at her. "Should've known it couldn't have been Georgie here who came up with that." He said teasingly. Hermione chuckled.

"It's still disgusting." Angelina said and Fred rose an eyebrow. "What?"

"Not the having-sex-part." She quickly said and smiled at Fred. "Just that they explicitly tell us when to do it and how often."

"Yeah….part of me actually expects them to suddenly apparate into people's homes at night with a clipboard, taking notes and chopping off how many times a couple has already had sex in that week." George said and Hermione fell herself blush furiously.

She hastily grabbed her cup of tea and started to drink so that they might just not notice how embarrassed she was.

"Yep…" Fred started. "…do you reckon they'll give marks or something? I'm sure Percy would love that!" At his words Hermione chocked on her tea and started coughing heavily. She fell George's hand patting her back.

"You' alright there?" he asked, chuckling.

"Sure!" she managed "I just didn't exactly want to imagine Percy having sex. Thanks for that image!" Fred and Angelina burst into laughter.

George shook his head. "Thanks 'Mione…now I've got those weird, disgusting mental pictures in my head too. Didn't actually give it to much thinking when Fred mentioned it." Hermione laughed.

"Well why should I suffer alone? We are going to be married pretty soon. Married people are supposed to share everything after all." She teased him and laughed.

George rose an eyebrow and looked at her, pretending to think hard.

"I think you're too bored again, aren't you?" He asked and when she realised what he was referring to her eyes widened. "No! Not at all!" she said but he started grinning evilly.

Hermione jumped off her chair and behind Angelina.

"Don't you dare doing that again!" she warned him but her beaming body sort of betrayed her.

She watched him standing up from his chair casually, smiling innocently.

"I really don't know what you're talking about 'Mione." He said and Fred sniggered.

"I know that look Hermione, I've seen it before and if I were you I'd get away from him as fast as possible!" Angelina said, chuckling.

"Oh I know that look too. I had the pleasure of meeting it last night." She said and slowly walked around the table because George had started walking towards her.

"Then you should already know what's coming now, shouldn't you?" He asked, a huge grin on his face, and suddenly he rushed around the table towards her so fast she couldn't manage to escape anymore.

He grabbed her and started tickling her mercilessly. She tried to get out off his grip for a few seconds but of course it, again, didn't work.

Screaming and giggling, she suddenly remembered the last time she'd found herself in the same situation and, not caring that Fred and Angelina were still sitting about two meters away from them, she did the only thing that had helped the last time.

She grabbed his collar and, a little bit surprised at her own dauntlessness, pulled him towards her until they were only inches apart from each other.

He froze and his eyes locked with hers before she closed the remaining distance between them and kissed him softly.

"We should really try that one sometime too." She heard Fred murmur besides them.

* * *

Now, this chapter was rather short,I know, and not that much happens (sorry) but I felt like writing something 'normal' and I think the talk with Angelina and the next chapter are also important for the story line. Hope you still like it.

**casper22: **_thank you so much for reviewing that much. I always like yours especially :D I never really realized that chapter 13 was the last one I rewrote so thanks again :D I hope you'll like the new stuff as much as the old. _

**princessofengland25: **_Thank you. Like I said, it's my favourite chapter so far as well so I'm glad someone shares my opinion._

**HPLivesOn394: **_So did you mean the same thing that happened to Hermione and George happened to you or that you read the chapter with your family around, giggled, and had to read it out loud! Or both! Sorry xD didn't quite get that._

_Anyway,…thanks for your nice review, hope you'll like this one as well._

**pixies114: **_Thank you, as always! You're one of those who read the first version too, aren't you! Well,…from this chapter on it's all new xD_

**clumsydolphin: **_Thank you for telling me about the confusion. I'm always trying to get it right but sometimes it just slips :D I'll try to work on it._

_I agree, as wrong as marriage laws sound they really are fun to write. Might read yours sometime ;)_

**Sarah.A.A: **_Thanks for your review. Here you are :P_

**The Good Child: **_Thank you so much. Hope you'll like the next ones too._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Hermione climbed up the stairs to Ginny's room feeling exausted. She was glad that the Weasley's all seemed to be out. She fell like she couldn't handle talking to Harry, Ginny or worse, Ron, right now. She was too exausted.

Dirk Cresswell had taken her to the north again and they had hardly managed to break off a fight between the merpeople and the wizards and witches of the beast division.

She opened the door, walked towards her bed and slumped onto it.

"Finally back are we?" a voice came from beside her and she jumped up from the bed.

Ginny was sitting on her own bed, grinning at Hermione.

"Merlin Ginny! Did you really have to scare me like that? I didn't expect you to be here."

Hermione said and tried to even her breath again.

"You didn't expect me to be in my own room?" Ginny asked, grinning.

"You know what I mean!" Hermione growled and sank back onto her bed. "I thought everyone was out. Actually, I HOPED everyone was out."

Ginny chuckled. "Sooo I noticed you didn't come back last night."

She looked at Hermione knowingly.

Hermione blushed. "I stayed at Fred and George's flat."

Ginny laughed. "I expected as much."

"So…what happened exactly?"

Hermione blushed even more. Merlin…why was she blushing so much lately?

"We just fell asleep…" she murmured.

"WE fell asleep?" Ginny asked, grinning.

"WE as in 'George and Hermione'?"

Hermione nodded sheepishly. "Yeah…"

Ginny squealed. "Tell me everything. What happened? Well…I saw the beginning of it obviously…and let me just tell you OH MY GODRIC! But what happened after we left? Did you…" "GOD NO!" Hermione exclaimed.

"GINNY!"

"Well…" Ginny said, looking slightly ashamed of herself. "…it's not like you weren't making out when we were in the flat."

"Making out is one thing Ginny. Having sex after three minutes another."

"Yeah well…you did seem to enjoy it pretty much…I didn't see George wearing a shirt, or you wearing you pullover for that matter." Ginny answered.

"So you think I'm throwing myself at the next best possibility too? Is that what you're thinking? That I'm a slut?" Hermione asked and looked at Ginny angrily.

"OF COURSE NOT!" Ginny exclaimed, looking shocked. "I'd never think that Hermione. I was just surprised. You dated Ron for nearly a year and – yes I know you only saw each other a few times – nevertheless you didn't do anything beyond snogging and that's totally okay but you just found out that you'll have to marry George and both of you never even considered the other one and you just met up for the first time and…." she sighted. "I was just surprised that's all, really." She smiled at Hermione and the latter found herself relaxing again.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you Ginny. It's just… I had a hell of a day and with everything that happened in the last two weeks, I guess I'm just a little bit overwhelmed." Ginny nodded. "I get it 'Mione. I mean I'm not in your situation, but I'm your best friend and I really try to understand you."

Hermione smiled at her. "Thank you."

"So…don't be angry but what DID happen? How did you end up making out in their living room? Harry and I were out with Ron and we just wanted to pay you guys a visit when we found you."

"Well we played the twins version of truth or dare-" Hermione started but Ginny's groan interrupted her. "You didn't!"

Hermione nodded. "How did it go? Did they ask you anything embarrassing or make you do anything bad?" she stopped for a second before an angry expression appeared on her face.

"Hang on…they didn't force you into making out did they? I swear if you didn't want to I'll—"

"No!" Hermione said hastily. "It wasn't like that. They didn't force me. Not exactly…."

Ginny frowned.

"You wanted to know if they asked me anything embarrassing?" Ginny nodded.

"Well the worst one was the first one Fred asked me. He wanted to know what I really thought of George in the past and what I was thinking now. And of course, I couldn't lie because of their truth sticks."

Ginny laughed. "And? What did you say?"

Hermione let out a groan. "It was mortifying. I told them that I always thought he was brilliant and very smart and, wait for it, really hot." Ginny started giggling furiously.

"And then…Fred wanted to know what I thought of George now and I said 'well I still think he's bloody hot…I mean look at that guy!'" Ginny had now started rolling on her bed, unable to stop her laughter.

"You didn't!" – "I did."

"You never told me!" Ginny said, finally calming down.

"I never told you what?"

"That you thought my brothers were hot!"

"I said I thought George was hot. I never said anything about Fred."

"But they are twins. They are identical."

Hermione thought about that for a second.

"Yeah I know but,…I don't know…it's not only looks that make someone hot. Of course,…it's a huge part of it but the persons personality is also a part of it and although I always liked Fred too there's just something about George that Fred doesn't have. I don't know what it is…and I didn't tell you about it before because I never actually thought about it that much before but it's true. I realized it last night, you know, Fred tricked us into sharing a sweet that made people give in to their already existing feelings and that led to George and me making out like that. When the three of us talked about it later I thought that what I felt and did was just because of the sweet but the effect it had on us had worn off after five minutes and … well … we were making out for about half an hour according to Fred.

George and I felt asleep a while later and just woke up this morning. That's why I didn't come back here."

"Wow!" Ginny simply said and stared at Hermione. "I….wow. Hermione I don't know what to say."

"Me neither." Hermione admitted.

"I mean it's way too fast don't you think? Marrying him in about three weeks is already too much but right now I'm not freaking out about it too much because we are being FORCED to do that but, Ginny, nobody forced us to make out like that after just one evening. And…." she looked onto her hands "nobody forced me to have feelings for him either." Ginny squealed again, ran towards Hermione and hugged her while sitting down next to her on the bed.

"But that's great 'Mione!"

"Is it?" Hermione asked her. "It's all going too fast Ginny. It scares me. You know what happened the last time I thought I had feelings for someone and back then I had those feelings building up over years. Now it just took a few days." she sighted. "It scares me Ginny. It really does and besides that I don't really get what he wants from me."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"I mean that I don't know if he really has feelings for me too."

"But you said that the sweets showed someones true feelings."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, but what if….what if it didn't show his feelings as in that he really really likes me but because he just wants to shag me too." she asked Ginny.

Ginny put an arm around Hermione and smiled at her.

"Oh Hermione…don't even think that. I know where that comes from but George isn't like Ron. As much as he likes messing with people he would never do something like that. He would never purposely hurt you!"

Hermione chuckled softly.

"Funny…you're not the first person to tell me that today."

"Who…"

"Angelina." Hermione answered. "She said she felt like I should know that George is a good guy."  
Ginny smiled. "She's right, he is…."

"That's what I thought about Ron too."

Ginny sighted. "I know he really hurt you but look at it like this…I knew that he was up to no good, didn't I?"

Hermione nodded.

"And now I tell you that George isn't like that. I'm telling you that he's a good guy and that, when he'll tell you that he likes you he'll mean it." she looked at Hermione knowingly. "Yes…I know I said WHEN and not IF."

Hermione sighed and Ginny continued talking.

"So if I was right with Ron. Do you think you could trust me on this one? Even if you can't trust George yet?" she asked.

Hermione just looked at her. "Yeah….I think I could do that."

* * *

"Georgie….." no reaction.

"Forge." still no reaction.

"GEORGE!" George's head snapped towards Fred.

"Why are you shouting at me?" he asked, irritated.

Fred chuckled. "I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes."

"Really?" George asked absently. "Didn't hear you."

"Yeah…I'm sure you didn't. By the way…I was trying to tell you that you've added the correct amount of goblin hair for the fifth time now. If you add another one it'll explode right into your face." George looked up from the cauldron he'd been working with.

"Oh…" he murmured. He shook his head and looked at his brother. "Sorry Freddie,…don't know what has gotten into me. I'll start from the beginning right away."

He reached for his wand to empty the cauldron but Fred grabbed his arm to stop him.

"I know exactly what has gotten into you Georgie."

George turned towards his twin again.

"And what exactly would that be oh brother of mine?"

Fred chuckled. "The lovely Miss Granger of course."

George burst into laughter. "Right Freddie….are you sure you're feeling alright?" He touched Fred's forehead as if to check for temperature. Fred slapped his hand away.

"Of course I'm feeling alright, idiot. You on the other hand, I'm not sure about."

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"Oh come on Georgie…I've known you for our entire lives. I know what's going on with you."

"And what would that be?" George asked again.

"Hermione." Fred simply said.

"What about her?"

"You have a thing for her." Fred simply said.

"I do not-" George started but Fred interrupted him.

"Don't give me that crap George!" he said surprisingly sternly.

"I know you and we don't have enough time to let you keep pretending that you don't like her. I've seen the way you looked at her last night and this morning. I've seen the two of you kissing….HELL I saw more than that."

he exclaimed.

"So what? I've kissed girls before. I've made out with girls before. What makes you think this is any different?"

Fred shook his head. "Because of the way you looked at her Georgie, because of the way kissed her, held her, calmed her down and defended her in front of Ron. Bloody hell George I know you better than myself and I know when your falling for someone."

George started coughing. "Excuse me but when I am doing WHAT?"

"Falling for someone." Fred simply stated.

"Don't be an idiot Fred."

"I'm not the one being an idiot here Forge. You are."

George glared at his twin.

"You know I'm kind of disappointed." Fred said.

"Why?" George asked, looking confused.

"I thought we told each other everything. I thought we didn't lie to each other."

George's mouth dropped open.

"I…" he started, but didn't seem to know what he actually wanted to say.

Finally he continued. "I didn't mean to lie to you Freddie, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, just don't do it again." Fred said, smiling. "You never have to apologize to me or feel embarrassed about something. I'm your twin. I won't judge you, you know that."

George nodded. "I know….goes both ways…"

Fred grinned.

"So…now that we've covered that. You know that you're falling for her right?"

"Guess so…" George mumbled.

"Sorry…didn't get that!" Fred said.

"I said GUESS SO!" George exclaimed and Fred's grin grew even broader.

"Good. So why is it so hard for you to admit it? It never has been before."

"That's because I never really liked a bird before her Freddie. I mean… yeah I liked them, they were alright…but…"

"But it's not the same with Hermione!" Fred stated, understandingly.

George looked at him, confusion written all over his face.

"How do you know?" he asked his brother.

Fred chuckled. "Because it's the same way with Angelina. I've been with birds before her and they were 'alright', as you said it, I was having fun with them but they were only flings, you know I never stayed with anyone for more than a few days. I kinda got bored. But when I started to get to know Angelina better all that changed."

George chuckled. "You DO realize how corny that sounds right Gred?"

Fred laughed as well. "Yeah…but what can you do!…"

"I just don't get it you know…" George said.

"I mean I never thought about her in that way. I always thought she was really smart and she turned into quite a looker in the last years, but…." he sighed.

"But what?"

"I don't know what changed. She was good looking and smart before we got engaged. Why did I just start liking her now?"

Fred smiled. "Because you never spend time with her before. You never got to know her better."

"I still don't know her very well." George said.

"And yet you're already falling for her."

George didn't say anything. He just stared at his twin.

"Does it scare you?" Fred asked. "That it's going this fast?"

George nodded. "Yeah. I mean it's insane isn't it? I just started looking at her like that a few days ago and that was because I was forced to. I've always laughed about people who fell in love with someone in such a short time. Remember how I always said they were completely nuts and that they were just fooling themselves?" Fred nodded.

"What if that's what I'm doing? Fooling myself?"

Fred sighted. "You can never be 100percently sure Georgie. Look at Ang and me. We've been dating for more than three years now and I love her more than anyone or anything besides you of course but all that could change anytime. Something could happen to either of us or we could fall for someone else… I personally don't think that the second part will ever happen, at least not from my side, but you can never know for sure Georgie. Look at what happened during the final battle. You know how easily I could have just died instead of barely making it."

At Fred's last words George fell tears building up in his eyes. He'd never forget the feeling he had gotten when he'd seen Fred lying on the floor, seemingly dead.

"Hey…." Fred said and rubbed George's arm.

"I didn't say that to make you upset. I'm fine now, you know that. I just brought it up again because I wanted you to realize how fast things can change and that you shouldn't keep thinking about what might happen or not happen all the time or nothing WILL happen and it'll be too late."

"You don't think it's too fast?" George asked with a small smile.

"Fast? Yes. Too fast? No. George you're entire situation is different. I think you should just stop thinking about it all the time. Just let it come to you. I know you're scared because you already like her that much although you don't know her particularly well yet but you can change that. Go out there and get to know her."

George looked at his twin and suddenly a smirk formed on his lips. "Tell me Freddie, where did you get all that wisdom from? I always thought I was the smart, handsome one of us."

Fred shove him and laughed. "Glad to see you're feeling better mate!"

They laughed for a while until George went silent again and looked at Fred with a frown building up in his face.

"What if she doesn't feel the same way though?" Fred sniggered. "Are you kidding me? I don't know where you were yesterday but I was there when she told us she always thought you were 'bloody hot', made out with you and snogged you senseless."

George blushed. "That doesn't mean she likes me that much."

"Yes it does." Fred said. "The sweets don't lie." he added with a grin. "And besides that. This is Hermione Granger we're talking about. Not just any girl."

"You're right." George said. "So what do you reckon I should do?"

Fred shook his head in disbelieve. "Mate, mate, mate… she really HAS gotten to you. I've never seen you ask for someone's advice on birds." He chuckled. "Well…how about you just ask her out on a date? Just the two of you you know,…so that you get to know each other better."

* * *

_As always,…review, review, revieeew._

_I'd also like to say something about this chapter. I love the twins but I always wanted to show that there's also another side to them. I hope you liked it _


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

On Saturday morning, Hermione was sitting at the Weasley's kitchen table, moving the eggs on her plate from one side to the other without actually eating them. Molly kept throwing her worried glances but so far, she had not said anything.

Next to Hermione, Ginny was happily chatting with Harry and enjoying her cereal and Ron, who was sitting at the other end of the table, was currently busy eating his third serving. But that wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

From time to time, Hermione would let out a silent sight and after about fifteen minutes, Molly couldn't stand it any longer.

"Hermione dear, is everything alright?" she looked at Hermione with a worried expression on her face.

Hermione looked up from her plate and simply nodded.

"She's alright mum, she's just worried about her day." Ginny said before Hermione could stop her and grinned at her mother.

Hermione grinned inwardly. Great. Now Molly wouldn't stop until she knew the entire story.

"What's happening today?" Molly asked immediately.

Hermione murmured something not-comprehensable.

"What was that dear?"

"She's going on a date today." Ginny helped, still grinning. From the corner of her eyes Hermione saw Ron drop his fork onto his plate.

"Uh! A date?" Molly exclaimed excitedly.

"With whom?"

Ginny sniggered. "With whom? Mum! With George of course."

Hermione fell her face heat up and looked down at her plate.

"With George, dear? Oh! That's fantastic, isn't it!" Molly exclaimed.

"And what would be so fantastic about that?"

Ron's angry voice came from the other side of the table and Hermione immediately groaned. But this time, it was out loud. And she wasn't the only one. Ginny had done the same and even Harry was rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"WHAT?" he exclaimed. "You're all freaking out about them dating and I can't see why."

"Because,…" Molly started with a stern voice that didn't accept any interruptions "Because they are getting married in three weeks and I think it's lovely and great idea that they are spending time together."

"Yeah right,…they are doing quite a bit more than that." Ron said sarcastically.

Hermione started anger building up inside of her. She was so sick of him treating her like that. She couldn't believe she'd actually ever fancied that idiot. But before she could say anything, Molly started to speak.

"Now Ron, I don't want you to go on and on about- wait,…" she suddenly stopped herself and looked from Ron to Hermione and back to Ron. "…what did you mean by ' they are doing quite a bit more than that.'?"

Hermione immediately blushed furiously. And she wasn't the only one. Harry had turned a bright shade of red and he suddenly seemed to be immensely interested in his bacon.

Ginny on the other hand didn't seem to be bothered at all.

"Nothing mum. He's just being a git, like always!"

"NOTHING? YOU CALL THAT NOTHING?" Ron exclaimed and laughed sarcastically.

Hermione felt like she needed to say something, needed to defend herself, but she was too mortified. She didn't want Molly to know what had happened on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Ron did.

"I wouldn't call it nothing if she and George are making out in the living room, practically naked!"

Hermione saw Molly's eyes widen.

"They did WHAT?" she shrieked.

Her eyes snapped towards Hermione.

"Hermione,…is…is he telling the truth?"

Hermione blushed, if possible, even more.

"Y-yeah…he sort of is."

Molly slumped into a chair next to Ron.

"Hermione dear…." she seemed unable to form a complete sentence.

"I-I don't know what to say." after a few seconds she seemed to pull herself together.

"I mean,…I don't know if I should be happy or shocked about this."

"Happy? Why would you be happy?" Ron asked and looked at his mother in disbelieve.

That made Ginny frown. "Oh shut it Ron! Haven't you already done enough damage?"

Ron opened his mouth to say something but Molly was faster.

"I mean…Hermione I never thought that you would be someone who…I mean…" she looked at Ron. "Despite the fact that my children all seem to think that I don't know what's going on in their lives I actually DO know what is and I know that you and Ron never went beyond snogging…." now Ron blushed too.

"I-I just don't understand why you'd go that far with George that soon and with Ron you didn't,…not even after a year."

Mortified. Yes, there was really no other word to describe what Hermione was feeling. Here she was, sitting at the breakfast table, listening to her ex-boyfriends and fiancées mother talking about her making out with her sons. Could this get any worse?

Of course it could.

"I mean don't get me wrong…" Molly went on.

"You know I am against any sexual relationships before marriage…." here she looked at Harry and Ginny with a raised eyebrow "…so I'm glad that you and Ron didn't go beyond snogging…" Hermione thought that she'd never seen a darker shade of red than the one on Ron's face "…but why did you go further with George than? From seeing you and Ron together I always expected that you simply wanted to wait."

Hermione didn't know what to say. Of course, she couldn't say that a sweet of Fred and George and caused their making out session because Molly would be furious (and besides that she now knew that that only make them start it). Hermione started playing with her fork nervously when she realized that all four were staring at her, even Ron.

She decided that she should simply tell her the truth. Or at least as much as she was even partially comfortable with, which wasn't much, considering the fact that Ron was in the room.

"It's just different I guess." she admitted and was surprised that she didn't feel sorry for what she was about to say at all. It wasn't like she wanted to pay Ron back for what he had said. She honestly didn't want to hurt him. As sad as it was, she simply didn't care about him as much as before anymore and she wanted him to know the truth.

"What do you mean, it's different?" Molly asked her and Ginny smiled knowingly.

"Ehm…" Hermione started, not exactly knowing how to put her thoughts and feelings into words.

"I don't know how to say it but it's just different,…there's something about George…(again she felt herself blushing furiously)…that the other guys I've dated didn't have." she had avoided saying Ron's name on purpose but Molly seemed to understand whom Hermione was referring to.

"I know it sounds cheeky but there's just something s-special about him." Hermione admitted shyly.

That last sentence earned her a disgusted sneer from Ron, but an angry look from his mother stopped him from saying anything.

Molly looked back at Hermione and offered her a warm smile.

"You don't have to try to explain it any better dear. I completely understand you. It's okay, I'm not angry with you and George. I was just concerned, that is all."

That seemed to loosen Ron's tongue.

"THAT'S ALL? Really mum? You're just….you don't….they….you let them…complete…bullshit…" he stuttered, not able to actually form an understandable sentence. Finally, he exclaimed "WHEN YOU FOUND ANY OF THE SEVEN OF US MAKING OUT WITH SOMEONE OR EVEN ONLY SNOOGING HEAVILY IN THE PAST WE ALL GOT AN HOUR LONG SEX TALK FROM YOU, WE WERE GROUNDED FOR A WEEK AND YOU DIDN'T LET US NEAR THE PERSON WE HAD BEEN CAUGHT WITH FOR ABOUT A MONTH AND ALL SHE GET'S IS A 'IT'S ALLRIGHT'?

THEY WERE HALF-BLOODY-NAKED!"

"RONALD!" Molly screamed and stopped him from going on any longer. She was standing up from her chair and stood infront of her youngest son, glaring at him and Hermione wasn't surprised to see him sink down further into his chair.

"I've had enough of your constant wining and swearing and shouting and being rude towards Hermione. I didn't say anything before because I thought that this was something between you and Hermione but this will stop right now! Despite the fact that I do not appreciate the way she's talking to you either, Ginny is right! You have been behaving like child and I will not – do you hear me? – I will not tolerate you're behaviour any longer. Is that clear?" Ron just nodded, staring at his feet.

Molly now turned towards Harry and Ginny, took a deep breath, and smiled at them.

"Now you two might want to know why you have had to endure everything your brother has just refered to and Hermione and George don't…" Harry and Ginny nodded.

"Well…the first thing is that I can't actually ground them or stop them frown seeing each other for the next month. They are both of age so I cannot tell them what to do and for the not seeing each other for the next month,…they are going to get married in three weeks. Not being able to see each other would make that quite complicated." She smiled and Harry, Ginny and even Hemrione laughed.

"Besides that…" Molly continued "…their situation is different from yours. They have been forced into this and they have to come to terms with each other in about a month and if this is the way they can handle it…" she sighed "…I guess I'll have to be okay with that."

Everyone just stared at her with big eyes and she laughed. "Don't look at me like that. I said this is a special case. It doesn't mean that I've changed my opinion about anything in general. I simply admitted that there are situations that deserve looking at things differently."

When the others still continued staring at her she laughed and turned towards Hermione again.

"So what are the two of you planning on doing today? And when will you meet? I know you have Saturdays off if there aren't any important cases but the twins don't close WWW until eight o'clock."

Hermione smiled shyly. "Yes but he sent me a letter on Thursday and he said that, since I had Saturday off, he'd ask Lee to help out in the afternoon so that he could spend more than just an evening with me."

Molly smiled at her. "That's so nice and considerate of him, isn't it! And what are you planning on doing?"

"I don't know…" Hermione admitted. "He didn't want to tell me. He just said that he'd pick me up after lunch, at one o'clock."

"Well I'm sure that, whatever it is he has planned, you'll have a lot of fun. After all, that's what my twins are famous for."

She smiled at Hermione encouraging and started to clean the kitchen.

A few hours later Hermione was standing infront of her trunk with a towel wrapped around her. It was useless. She wouldn't find anything proper to wear anyway. Why even try? She jumped when the door opened and Ginny slid into the room.

"You're still not dressed?" she asked with frown.

"Obviously not." Hermione said, frustrated with herself.

"I don't know what to wear!"

Ginny shook her head but smiled. "Hermione-Hermione…you'd think that you've never been on a date before."

"Well…" Hermione admitted reluctantly,

"I haven't been on one in years. Ron and I never actually went on a date and the only thing you could even slightly compare to a date was Slughorns Christmas party in my sixth year or the Yule ball in my fourth and you really can't compare those to today."

Ginny smiled "Because you are engaged now?"

"Yes, that and the fact that I never liked Victor and McLaggen as more than friends. To be honest I didn't like McLaggen at all."

"I know." Ginny nodded and turned towards Hermione's trunk.

"So shall I help you pick something out?"

"Yes, I'm afraid if you don't help me I'll have to go in this towel."

Ginny laughed. "Then maybe I shouldn't help you. I don't think George would have too much against you going on a date with him in that."

Hermione blushed. "Please,…just help me okay!"

Ginny nodded and started searching through Hermione's trunk.

"So…we don't know what you're going to do so I guess we're looking for something nice but casual." She murmured to herself.

After a few seconds she presented Hermione a pair of jeans and a red blouse without sleeves.

Hermione remembered that they once looked quite good on her but now she swallowed and shook her head.

"Ehm..no Ginny ehm…that's that's too short."

Ginny looked at her. "Why?"

"Because…" Hermione feverishly tried to come up with an acceptable reason as to why it was to short. She'd never told anyone about the scars on her arm. Not even Ginny.

"It could get too cold." she finally managed.

Ginny just shook her head. "Hermione it's June! It's warm outside! You're always wearing long sleeves. You'll never get any tan that way."

"But what if it suddenly gets colder or if it rains or….I don't even know how long we're going to stay out. It always gets colder in the evenings you know that Ginny."

The red-head sighed. "How about a compromise? I've got a nice black blazer you could wear above it. If it's too cold, you can wear it over the blouse and you can still see the front of it and if it's warm you can just put it off okay?"

Hermione nodded, feeling relieved. She knew she would wear the blazer the entire time but Ginny didn't have to know that.

She waited until Ginny had left the room and

put on the jeans, blouse and the blazer Ginny had handed her before leaving. After that she put on her pair of converse and charmed them into the same red her blouse was in.

She looked into Ginny's mirror.

'_Not too bad.' _she thought and smiled.

She grabbed her wand from her bed and started drying and styling her hair. She'd decided to learn some hair-fixing-spells after she'd seen what Angelina had been able to do with her hair.

At a few minutes before one she grabbed her handbag and walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. She saw that George was already there, leaning against the counter and talking with his mother, sister and Harry who were all sitting around the table with Ron.

Nobody seemed to have notice her entrance and that way she had time to take in George's appearance without being watched.

Despite her embarrassment about having to say it out loud a few days before she had been right. He really DID look good.

He was wearing a pair of kaki trousers and a blue shirt that had the exact same colour as his eyes. She remembered thinking that he was quite well built on Wednesday evening and there was no way denying that years and years of being a beater had certainly had their effect on him, even WITH a shirt on.

Suddenly, George looked towards where Hermione was standing and a huge grin spread across his face and Hermione couldn't help but return it.

The others turned around to see what he was grinning at and Hermione saw Harry's and Ron's mouths drop open and Ginny grinning happily. Before anyone could say anything, George walked over towards her and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth.

Hermione blushed slightly and smiled up at him. "Hey…" she managed softly and George's grin grew even wider.

He leant towards her ear.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you're looking right now?" he whispered and Hermione shivered when she fell his breath on her skin.

"Well you look quite handsome yourself Mr. Weasley." she whispered back and was surprised how easy it was to feel comfortable around it.

"Well…I already know that you think I'm bloody hot. don't I!" he whispered and smirked.

Hermione laughed out loud and smacked him.

"I can't believe you had to bring that up again." she exclaimed even louder, having forgotten that they weren't the only ones in the room.

Molly's voice reminded her of that fact a few seconds later.

"Now George I want you to behave yourself around Hermione." she said but Hermione saw that she was beaming at the two of them, as were Ginny and Harry for that matter. Ron was just glaring at them but Hermione decided to ignore him.

George gasped in mock surprise.

"You wound me mother!" He put his arms around Hermione's shoulder and pulled her against his side. "I'm always behaving around Hermione." He turned his head to look down at her. "Isn't that right 'Mione?" he asked her and grinned.

"Yeah right!" Ginny said. "We all saw how well you can behave Georgie."

Hermione chuckled and saw George turn bright red and look at his mother.

Hermione thought he looked quite scared. Or as scared as a Weasley twin could look.

Molly simply chuckled and smiled at her son.

"So where are you going to take her?" Harry asked, still watching George and Hermione with a grin.

"Ah,…well Harry…" George said and squeezed Hermione's shoulder.

"…telling you would ruin the surprise for Hermione, wouldn't it?"

"But I want to know!" Ginny exclaimed and made both, George and Hermione chuckle.

"I'll tell you about it when I come back Ginny." Hermione promised and Ginny seemed relieved.

George looked down at Hermione, his arm still around her shoulder.

"So what do you say,…shall we go?"

Hermione nodded and with a goodbye for the others George led her out off the Burrow.

* * *

_Hahaha xD Guess you'll hate me now, but you know I looove cliffhangers. Also...sorry for not updating earlier but you know...weekend=more time :D_

**Review, review, review xD**_  
_


	17. Chapter 17

******Okay, this is the chapter you've all been waiting for. Sorry for not updating earlier but I've got exams right now so I just forgot about it tbh. I hope it'll live up to you expectations!**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

George pulled her behind him and out off the back door of the Burrow. He suddenly stopped and turned towards her, while still holding her hand in his.

"Well…that was weird." he said and looked down at her. "I could have sworn my mum understood what Ginny was referring to but if she had she would have thrown a tantrum."

Hermione chuckled. "She DID know what Ginny meant George."

His eyes widened. "But why didn't she say anything then? Don't get me wrong I'm glad she didn't but it's weird, isn't it?"

"We already talked about it at breakfast." she simply said.

"Oh my,…" he said and rubbed his neck with his free hand like he always did when he was nervous.

"I'm sorry Hermione. You shouldn't have had to sit through that alone. I know how horrible her sex talk can be." suddenly he frowned and looked at her, confused. "But- wait a second. If she knows about us making out…why did she let me take you out on a date?"

That made Hermione laugh. "Well she said that she understands that we're in a special situation and that therefore different rules apply to us. She said she couldn't forbid us anything anyway, because we're both of age and that, besides that, she thought that we would have to figure out a way to get comfortable with each other and stuff like that and if that was our way she'd be okay with that."

"Wow." was all he could manage. Fred and he'd had his fair share of sex talks over the years and he was surprised of his mothers behaviour. Suddenly, a thought came up in his mind.

He rubbed the back of Hermione's hand with his thumb and grinned down at her.

"You know she's right,…I really DID feel quite comfortable." He watched how Hermione immediately blushed furiously.

"GEORGE!" she exclaimed and tried to pull her hand out of his.

"Don't tell me you didn't!" he said and got a glare from Hermione.

"Didn't you want to take me somewhere?"

She asked.

"Right,..I did." he said and nodded. "Just hold onto me and I'll side-along you okay?"

She nodded and entwined her fingers with his.

He looked down at her for one last time and spun around.

They apparated into a back road and Hermione dropped George's hand to look around properly. She didn't recognize anything. She turned back towards George who was watching her.

"Where are we?" she asked and he, once again, showed her the famous Weasley-twin-grin. "What did I say 'Mione!"

"It's a surprise…" she mumbled.

"Right,…so let's get there." he said and grabbed her hand.

They walked to one end of the street and entered one that was much busier.

'Malet Street', Hermione read on a sign.

"We're in London!" she exclaimed and looked at George, who was chuckling slightly.

"Got that right away, didn't you!" he said and kept walking down the street, gently pulling her with him.

"Yes, but what are we doing in muggle London George?"

She knew that he wouldn't tell her but she was unable to stop asking him anyway.

As expected, he simply shook his head.

"You'll see soon enough. We're nearly there."

They reached the end of the street and Hermione's eyes widened. He wouldn't have…

She looked up at him and caught him grinning down at her.

"How did you…?" she asked.

"Harry! I asked him for a place you liked. Somewhere we could spend a few hours and he told me that, while you guys were on the run, you told him that you missed doing normal stuff like-"

"Like going to the British Museum." Hermione interrupted him in awe.

He simply nodded.

"But you don't like museums George! I'm sure you think they're boring! I don't want to spend the afternoon doing something you don't like…we don't have to-"

"But you like it 'Mione and that's enough for me! Besides,…I've never actually been to a museum before so how do we know that I won't like it!" he asked and winked.

She simply beamed at him. She hadn't been here in years and she couldn't believe that he was being so considerate.

Then she remembered something.

"Hang on…but Harry asked where you'd take me."

That made him laugh.

"Yes,…he can be quite devious…"

By then they had reached the entrance of the museum and she watched how George bought to ticket and was honestly surprised.

"How do you know how to pay with muggle money?" she whispered when they walked into the first room.

"Your dad always seemed to be completely confused and overwhelmed."

"Well there are a lot of things you don't know about me Miss Granger!" he said slyly and walked further into the room.

They spend the next few hours in the museum and Hermione was surprised to find out that George actually seemed to enjoy it.

When they watched the Egyptian exhibition he told her all about the summer they visited Bill in Egypt and the excitement in his voice was contagious. It was the same with his joke shop, Hermione thought. When George liked something he put all his passion into it and felt like sharing it with everyone around him.

When they left the museum Hermione was surprised to see that it was already a quarter to seven. It had not felt like they'd been in there for about five hours.

George asked her if she'd like to have dinner with him and when she happily accepted he apparated them to a small French restaurant in Diagon Alley she'd never noticed before.

They walked inside and a waitress showed them to their table.

While they were waiting for the menus they both fell silent. Somehow, the carefree atmosphere of the afternoon had disappeared and Hermione didn't know why. It might have been because the corner of the restaurant they were sitting in was much more intimate than a museum. "So…." she started a feverishly searched for something to say.

"So you like French food as well?"

'_Way to go Hermione …. asking him if he likes the food….great! Why didn't you just start discussing the weather straight away?' _she thought, angry with herself.

But George seemed to be glad that she'd interrupted the silence.

"No…to be honest I've never tried any before." he said.

That surprised her. "Then why did you take me here?"

He smiled at her. "Because I know that YOU like it!"

She blushed for, what fell like, the millionth time since she'd found out that she'd marry George.

"How? Did Harry tell you?" she asked in order to distract him.

"Nope…didn't need any help in that area." he said proudly. "…knew that all by myself."

That made Hermione laugh.

"How did you find out?" she asked, seriously interested in what he would say.

"I remembered it from my sixth year…there was always a lot of French food because of the Beauxbatons students, remember? You always tried to talk Harry and Ron into trying it because you thought it was delicious."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. That had been four years ago and they had not even been close back then.

She was about to say something when the waitress appeared at her table with two menus. They ordered a bottle of elf-made wine and, after the waitress had left them, buried their faces in the menus.

"Ehm 'Mione?" George asked after a few seconds and made her look up from her menu. "Yes?"

"You don't happen to speak French, do you!"

he asked and understanding drew in her face.

"Oh George, I'm sorry I didn't even think about that. Yes I do."

He grinned sheepishly. "So what's all this stuff? This one sounds funny…'Foie gras'"

Hermione laughed. "I don't think you'll want to eat that. That's goose liver."

George shuddered. "No thank you…" he studies his menu again. "What are you taking?" he asked.

"'Pot au feu'!" Hermione answered. "That's beff stew with mixed vegetables."

"Hmm…" George said. "I don't know I had stew yesterday. What's this 'Cassoulet' stuff?"

"That's duck with different sausages served with white beans." she said and he looked confused.

"Okay I don't get why you'd want sausages if you already have chicken, but I'll take it."

he said and when the waitress came back with their wine Hermione ordered their food.

"So are you up for another game?" George asked and winked at her.

Her eyes widened and he chuckled.

"It doesn't have anything to do with any of our products I swear. I just thought we should get to know each other better and what better way is there than asking each other questions?"

She nodded. He was right, they DID need to get to know each other better. She just hoped his questions weren't as embarrassing as Fred's had been.

"Okay, bring it!" she said and smiled at him.

"Okay…what was your favourite subject in school?"

"Transfiguration! Yours?"

"Charms!" he said immediately and she chuckled. Of course it would have been…

"You're next…" he said and leant back expectantly.

"Hmmm…favourite colour?"

G: « Magenta ! Yours ? »

H: « Purple. »

G: « Favourite sweet ? »

H: « Sugar quills ! Yours ? »

G: « Jelly slugs !"

H: "Favourite sibling?"

G: "Freddie!"

H: "Besides him I mean!"

G: "Ginny! Or Bill…yours?"

H: "Ginny as well."

George gasped in mock-shock.

"Hermione! You wound me. Are you saying that I'm not you're favourite Weasley?"

She grinned and suddenly fell courageous.

"Not yet, but you might be able to change that if you're trying hard enough."

He smirked and leaned towards her.

"I'll get to you so fast you won't even notice it coming 'Mione…" he whispered and Hermione felt a shiver running down her spine.

As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, she had no doubt he was right.

Luckily, she was saved by the waitress who brought them their food.

During dinner they talked about everything and nothing at the same time.

George was surprised that he actually liked the food but Hermione told him that that wasn't much of a surprise considering that he'd picked the dish that was also common in Great Britain, just not in that specific combination.

After they had finished they continued the game they'd played before but this time their questions seemed to be much deeper than before. They knew that a few uncomfortable questions were about to come up but they had agreed that they would have to talk about them sooner or later so Hermione tried to loosen up as good as possible.

"So,…I know that you haven't had sex before but I'd like to know how far you've gone with Ron,…or with others for that matter."

"With others?" Hermione shrieked and made a few people turn around and towards them.

She clapped her hand in front of her mouth and glared at George. In nearly a whisper she continued. "What do you think I am George? I don't run around to randomly make out with guys." He shook his head.

"That's not what I meant 'Mione and you know it. You're just overreacting because my question made you feel uncomfortable."

That made her look down at her wine glass in front of her. How did he already know her that well?

George reached across the table and grabbed her right hand in his.

"Please 'Mione? I'm not doing this because I WANT you to feel uncomfortable. It's just that there ARE a few things we NEED to talk about. We're getting married in three weeks and although we've come along pretty well so far we haven't actually talked about anything concerning the wedding…or the marriage in general."

She sighed and looked up just to see him looking at her with worried eyes.

"You're right…I'm sorry…it's just so overwhelming sometimes." He nodded, understandingly. "So to answer your question…" she started and smiled when she fell that George was still holding her hand and that he was now running soothing circles across the back of it.

"…I've never gone beyond snogging. Not even slightly. And for 'any others' you were referring to,…I only dated Victor in my fourth year but we only kissed a few times because I figured out that I didn't like him as more than a friend and I only went on a date with one other guy after that. I don't know if you remember him he was in the year above me. Cormac McLaggen."

"You dated McLaggen?" he exclaimed with wide eyes and she felt his hand tighten around hers.

"He's a complete idiot!"

Hermione laughed. "Yes I know he is."

"Then why did you date him?" he asked and she wondered why his voice suddenly sounded harsher than before.

"I didn't DATE him George, I just went on one date with him. It wasn't even a real date because we went to Slughorns Christmas party."

"That still doesn't explain WHY you went on a date with him if you already knew that he was an idiot." he said and Hermione sighed.

"I went on a date with him because of Ron. Ron was acting like the biggest jerk and McLaggen kept hitting on me and since I knew that Ron hated McLaggen I went on a date with him." she admitted.

George seemed stunned.

"Wow. You went on a date with McLaggen just to get back at Ron. He really must have pissed you off for you to go that far."

He grinned at her but, somehow, it didn't seem to reach his eyes. She wondered what was wrong with him. An idea as to what it could be came up in her mind. But it couldn't be…

In order to test her idea she continued talking.

"Yes I was pretty angry about him but if I think about it now…it wasn't worth it at all.

I mean I was jealous because of him and Lavender but now I don't even get why anymore."

She looked at George and saw a huge grin building up on his face. This time, it DID reach his eyes.

"So you and McLaggen eh?" George teased her and she glared at him.

"That's not funny George it was disgusting!"

"Why? What happened?" he asked and studied her face carefully.

"Well…we were at the party and he kept following me like a puppy. He kept guiding me towards mistletoes in the hope that I'd kiss him but I kept leaving him underneath them.

But THEN…" she said and shot him a dark look "…THEN I suddenly found myself under another mistletoe and SOMEHOW I didn't seem to be able to walk away anymore. Do you have any idea why that might have been the case George?"

She looked at him and saw realization drawing on his face.

"Oh no…" he said.

"Oh YES!" Hermione corrected him.

"Imagine my surprise when he, once again, guided me towards a mistletoe but this time I couldn't escape him because I couldn't MOVE!

So we stood there…unable to move the lower parts of our bodies and he told me with a very devilish grin that we'd been stuck under a new invention of the Weasley twins. Tell me George did the idea of forcing people to kiss each have sound like great fun to you and Fred?"

George simply stared at her. Then, suddenly, he started bursting into loud, uncontrollable laughter. Hermione tried to glare at him but his laughter was contagious and she could hardly manage to keep herself from joining in.

Finally, George calmed down and looked at her, wiping tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry 'Mione, I really am…it's just,…the whole story is just brilliant. Imagining you, constantly running away from McLaggen who just has the thought of snogging you on his mind…" he chuckled. "So what happened then?"

She frowned. "Well we had to kiss didn't we! So he leant down towards me and…" here she shivered "….uh I still can't forget his face coming closer and closer to mine and well then he sort of smashed his lips into mine….it was honestly disgusting….so….wet!"

Now George looked disgusted too.

"Well then I could move my feet again so I pushed him away from me, which wasn't THAT easy I can tell you…the guy is quite strong, and I escaped back to my dorm. The next morning we left Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays and after that I sort of just avoided him until he finally got the hint."

Awkward silence hang between them until Hermione finally opened her mouth again.

"So what about you? I mean I know you must've had sex but ehm…."

"But what?" he asked with a smile.

"Ehm…h-how…" she stuttered "…how many?"

George let out soft laughter.

"What do you think of me 'Mione?"

She blushed. "Well…you know the rumours that were always running around Gryffindor tower. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't believe all of them but…"

"But you still expect some of them to be true."

"Yes…" she admitted sheepishly.

"It's alright 'Mione, I'm not proud of it myself. I never actually had a girlfriend before. Although practically you're not my girlfriend either but my fiancée. However I never DID have one. There were just quite some girls I made out with. I know Fred and I weren't just famous for our pranks." he admitted and looked at their hands.

Hermione suddenly felt awful and she didn't know why. She removed her hand from George's and crossed her arms in front of her. She had know that Fred and George had quite a reputation. So why did it make her so upset to hear it from him?

"How many did you sleep with?" she heard herself ask, but her voice sounded weird. Somehow shaky.

She heard George sigh. "Five." he admitted and that made her head snap up.

"Just five?" she asked without thinking.

George frowned. "'Just'? How many did you expect it to be?"

"I don't know." she answered honestly. "Just….more than that you know…." she looked down at her arms again.

"'Mione I'm really sorry." George said but she still didn't look up from her arms.

"I'm sorry that I've…well…how do I say this, …so much more experience than you have. I really am."

He moved his hand towards her chin and made her look up and into his eyes.

"You don't have to apologize George." she finally said. "It's not your fault I haven't had sex yet."

"I know it's not my fault but still feel bad about it. It's just…I've never found the right one. I've never been with someone for more than a few days."

She just nodded, because she didn't know what to say. At one point, a knot had formed inside her throat and she wasn't able to make it go away. She was angry with herself. She didn't blame George for having had other witches before. She honestly didn't. He was handsome and smart and charming,…no wonder witches had been all over him.

No,…she hated herself for feeling so bad because of it. She was jealous of every single witch that had been with him and she didn't know what to do about it. She'd never felt that way before. Of course she'd been jealous when Ron had been dating Lavender but now she realized that that had been nothing compared to what she felt now.

George's words pulled her out off her thoughts and back to him.

"Tell me what you're thinking…please 'Mione!"

She shook her head and laughed quietly.

"They are way too embarrassing George." she admitted and he smiled.

"I don't care…I just want to know if you're angry at me or..I don't know sad or whatever. We NEED to start being open with each other. I know it sucks but there's nothing we can do about it. We can just try to make the best out off it and I don't want to see you getting hurt 'Mione. So please tell me what you're thinking."

She entwined her arms and took a huge sip of her wine.

"I'm jealous." she finally mumbled and looked up at George through her eyelashes.

"I'm jealous and I hate it."

"Good." George said and Hermione looked at him, utterly confused.

"Good? what's good about that?" she asked.

"It's good because I was starting to feel like an idiot for being jealous because of Ron. And because of McLaggen and Krum for that matter." he said.

"You're jealous because of them?" she whispered.

George nodded and, leaning forwards, looked into her eyes.

"If you can be jealous, why can't I?"

"Because I'm not worth getting jealous over."

she admitted and a part of her wondered just when she'd started being unable to hide anything from him.

George laughed and shook his head. "'Mione for someone who's as smart as you are you're sometimes incredibly clueless." he said and took her hand in both of his.

"You ARE worth it. If you believe it of not.

You're smart, funny, beautiful, courageous, loyal…"

With each of his words he had leant further towards her and Hermione found herself leaning over the table, towards him, as well.

They met in the middle and George cupped her face in his hands. He was now so close that only millimetres were between them.

"…yes you're totally worth it." he whispered and then his lips were on hers.

Their kiss was more gentle and slowly than the ones they had shared on Wednesday but it was still just as good. Where their former ones had been passionate and heated, this one was soft, strong and somehow reassuring.

It was over much too soon, in Hermione's opinion, and when George slowly moved away from her she couldn't help but stare into his eyes.

"What do you say…shall we get out of here and go for a walk before I get you back to the Burrow?" he asked in a tone that was a little bit deeper than normally.

Hermione nodded and George waved for the waitress in order to pay.

When they left the restaurant Hermione realized that it was already dark outside. Again, time had flown by like nothing.

George lay his arm around her shoulder, pulled her to his side and, just like that, they started walking down the Alley.

"There was something I wanted to ask you." George said after a few minutes. "I'm not sure what you'll think thought. I'd completely understand if you'd say no." He said with a, for him very uncharacteristical, stutter.

Hermione chuckled against his side.

"Just say it George. I don't bite."

"Alright. You know Fred and Ang are going to get married in exactly one week."

"Yes…"

"And I was wondering if you wanted to move in then. I mean into Fred's room of course."

Hermione looked up at him, confused.

"Where are Fred and Angelina going to live?"

"Right…we never actually talked about that. There's a second flat above ours. It looks exactly like the one we're living in right now but until now we only used it as storage space. I realize you and me never discussed where we were going to live after we got married but Fred and I talked about it and, well, we thought it might be a good idea if he and Angelina moved into the flat above the one we're living in now and we, that means you and I, could live in the other one. Just if you're okay with that of course."

He looked at her expectantly and Hermione saw that he was honestly scared that she'd say no. She knew that he wasn't ready to move too far away from Fred, not after what had nearly happened to him, and she'd never make him do something he didn't want to do.

Despite that, she actually liked the idea of moving in with him earlier than planned.

"I'd like that very much." she said and smiled at him.

George stopped and looked down at her, disbelieve written all over her face.

"Really?" he asked and Hermione laughed out loud.

"Really! I mean we will move in together eventually so why not next weekend? We would be able to spend more time together, I could start making myself more comfortable and to be honest…I'd love not sleeping in the same room as Ginny anymore. Harry will have to learn some good silencing charms because Merlin does that girl snore!"

George chuckled and they continued walking.

"So if she snores that much, why are the two of you sleeping in one room?"

"Because your mum wants us to. She's under the impression that, if I'm sleeping in the same room as Ginny and Harry in the same as Ron they won't be able to have sex."

"WHAT?" George exclaimed and Hermione chuckled.

"I guess you should not move in earlier then 'Mione."

Hermione just shook her head.

"Yes I should." she said and squeezed him.

"It doesn't work anyway. Your mother seems to forget that there are about three other empty rooms in the house they can use any time they want. And actually DO use anytime they want."

George groaned. "'Mione I really didn't need an image of my little sister shagging Harry Potter."

Hermione laughed. "You know if you'd want one, all we'd need would be a pensive. I accidentally caught them one time."

"You didn't!"

She nodded. "Yes your mum send me to your old room to get a box she left there and when I opened the door I-" but George interrupted her.

"IN MY ROOM?" he exclaimed and seemed to be utterly disgusted by the thought.

"Which bed?" he asked, looking down at her.

"The one on the right side."

She felt George shudder next to her and she got why he had asked which bed she had found them in.

"Oh….your bed is the one on the right?"

she asked and he nodded.

"I can't believe them! Of all the rooms and beds they could have chosen they HAD to chose mine!"

Hermione tried to suppress her laughter.

"Okay so now you see why I wouldn't mind moving out do you?"

"Yeah I guess there might be a good reason."

he said and smiled down at her.

"So when do you want us to move your stuff over to the flat?"

"'Us'?" she asked, feeling confused.

"Yes US. You didn't think I would let you do it without any help did you?"

"No but you don't have to. I don't have that much stuff to be honest." she said and looked down at her feet.

"Why?"

"Well remember during the war? I left my parents after I modified their memories and I could only take what was absolutely necessary. I left the rest in the house and the Death Eaters destroyed that when they were searching for me. I've got the Hogwarts trunk I bought for my seventh year with all my clothes in it and a couple of books but that's pretty much it. I mean I have all the money that came with the Order of Merlin I got but I went back to Hogwarts pretty soon and I didn't think of getting stuff I had before again. I only bought what I needed for school."

At this George pressed Hermione against his side even tighter and rubbed her arm.

"I'm sorry….so when do you want to bring your stuff over?"

"Well either tomorrow or next weekend. I don't know if I told you about it yet but I'm not going to be around from Monday til Friday."

"No you didn't." George said, sounding surprised. "What are you going to do?"

"Dirk and a few others are being send to a forest near Dundee and he asked if I wanted to join them because they at least have to go in a group of six and one of them cancelled on Thursday." she explained and George nodded.

"That's really nice of you. What are you being sent there for?"

Hermione suddenly remembered his outburst on Wednesday and felt like she didn't want to tell him anymore.

"Oh…it's not that important."

"I'm sure it is. If they have to send at least six people. When you and Dirk went to that lake it was only the two of you, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yes…you're right. Well,…we're being sent there because the ministry suspects an unauthorized pack of werewolves hiding there."

"A WHAT?" he practically shouted and stopped walking.

"Shhh not so loud George. You know how Kingsley made that law that all Werewolves had to be registered if they were living in a group of more than two people because of all the stuff that happened with Greyback?"

"Yes!"

"That's why we're being sent there. Kingsley got an information that there is an illegal group hiding there. But you don't have to worry about it. There are just four of them and one witch and one wizard of our group are going to be aurors. It really isn't that much of a big deal George."

George looked down at her, frowning.

"Hermione, I'm not saying this because I think you can't defend yourself. Never think that. It's just that,…like I said….ever since Greyback attacked Bill I'm always freaking out about anything concerning werewolves. That's why I'm worried about you. And obviously because I don't want you to get hurt." he admitted slowly.

Hermione smiled up at him put her arms around his waist (while surprising herself).

"That's really sweet of you but I'll be okay."

He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

After a while he pulled back and looked down at her. "So how about we bring your stuff over to the flat tomorrow after the lunch with the family. That way you can come right to the flat when you come back from your trip? Fred and Angelina will move their stuff into their flat next week."

Hermione nodded. "Sounds good."

"Alright, that's settled then. How about I'll get you back to the Burrow now? It's already eleven and as much as I enjoy this mum would freak out if I brought you back any later than this and I think we should stay on her good side for tomorrow."

"ELEVEN?" Hermione shrieked and dropped her arms from George. "Ohmy…I can't believe we've been out for ten hours!"

"Time flows by when you're having fun, doesn't it?" George said, grabbed her hand and apparated them back to the Burrow.

* * *

_Okay,...I've recently read this fanfiction where (although the story was quite good) the author wrote "WELL, what do you think?", "WELL, how did I do?" or "WELL, how was it?" after EVERY FREAKING CHAPTER...which was quite annoying so I won't do that:D  
Still...that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to knop :P  
Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter as well_

_~Emjezz xD  
_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

„Well, well, well...if it isn't Georgie, finally coming back home!"

George jumped at the unexpected voice of his twin.

He turned around to find Fred on one of the sofas, leaning back casually and grinning at George.

"Merlin Freddie! You scared the hell out off me. I thought you'd stay with Angelina tonight."

"Nah…her mum wanted her to come home for the night. Something about the wedding. Besides…those team-mates of her are really starting to get annoying." he took a huge sip of the fire whiskey in front of him.

"Never mind. So tell me, brother of mine, what brings you back after (here he looked at his watch) about ten and a half hours?

Tzztzztzz… Georgie Georgie Georgie…what am I supposed to do with you!"

"Oh shut up!" George said and sat down next to him, unable to hide the grin forming on his face.

Fred leaned towards him. "Sooooooo?"

"What 'soooo'!"

"What happened? Where did you go? What did you do? How was it?" Fred fired the questions at his twin.

"Freddie your worse than Ginny!" At that thought, he remembered what Hermione had told him earlier.

"While we're talking about Ginny…we need to have a serious talk with Harry!"

"Why?" Fred asked.

"Well Hermione told me that she caught Ginny and Harry shagging in our old bedroom!"

"SHE DID WHAT?" Fred exclaimed, looking as furious and disgusted as George had felt about an hour before.

"Yes. But don't you loose it Freddie, at least they decided to do it on MY bed, not yours!"

Fred shook his head. "Oh my…I really didn't need THAT image in my head."

George nodded.

They thought about it for a while, or better said, tried NOT to think about it.

"But Georgie…don't think that you're going to avoid telling me what happened. What did you do? Have you really been out for ten hours?"

"Yep." George said and grinned at his twin.

"Picked her up at one and I just brought her back to the Burrow."

"Did she like the museum idea?" Fred asked.

"Yeah…she loved it. Thanks for telling me to ask Harry by the way."

"So what did you do after that?"

"We stayed there until about 6:45 and after that I asked her if she'd like to have dinner and when she said yes I took her to that French restaurant in Diagon Alley. You know the one Bill told us about."

Fred nodded.

"Well we had dinner and we talked, about pretty much everything an-"

"Everything-everything or mum-everything?" Fred interrupted him.

"Fred-and-George-everything Freddie."

Fred grinned. "So what did she-"

But this time George interrupted him.

"No way Fred…not going to go there. It was hard enough for her to talk about it with ME, sorry."

"Alright." Fred said. "So what happened after that?"

"I payed and we went for a walk through Diagon Alley and talked again. I asked her if she wanted to move in early."

At that Fred's head shot up and his eyes widened.

"You did? I mean I know you considered it but I thought you weren't sure…"

"Yeah I know but it just felt right you know?"

Fred nodded. "So what did she say?"

George broke into a huge grin.

"She said she'd love to."

Fred smiled and clapped George on the back.

"Well done Georgie. So when will you get her stuff here?"

"Tomorrow after the family lunch."

"Why so soon?"

At that, George frowned.

"She's not going to be in town from Monday to Friday."

"Why?"

"Dirk Cresswell, he's her boss, Hermione and five other witches and wizards are being sent to a forest near Dundee to handle a werewolf problem." He told his brother while still frowning.

"Oh…" Fred simply said.

"'Oh'? That's all you've got to say?"

"Georgie…I know what you're thinking but I'm sure she's going to be fine. You know how capable she is. I for my part wouldn't want to end up in a duel with her. How many werewolves are going to be there? Do they know?"

"Yes, four. And two of the people who're being sent there are aurors." George admitted.

"SEE! It's going to be fine Georgie."

George nodded. "I know…I mean I know she can take care of herself I'm just worried about her that's all."

Fred nodded in understanding. "I get it. I really do. Everytime Ang had a match a part of me freaks out. I mean I know it's only a game and I know she's brilliant at it but I still worry." he smiled at George and suddenly started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" George asked.

"Does mum know Hermione's going to move in with you? PLEASE tell me that you guys are not going to tell her about it until I'm around. She's going to go mental."

"That's not funny. But I don't think she's going to. You know Ron or Ginny told her about Hermione and me making out and she didn't freak out. She said that ours was a special situation and that, if that was our way of handling things, it would be okay."

Fred's mouth dropped wide open.

"No sex talk?"

"Nope."

"Wow…but don't you think moving together is going to be a whole different thing for her?"

George shrugged. "I guess we can only wait until tomorrow and see what happens. Whatever she's going to say she's going to move in. We're both of age and we decided that this was the best way to get to know each other better and to handle things."

"Wow…there were quite a few 'we's' in there weren't there?" Fred said.

"Well I suppose we are a 'we' aren't we?" he said and started to laugh when he saw the expression on his twins face.

"Okay that WERE quite a few 'we's' in THAT one!"

* * *

With a loud POP, Angelina, Fred and George appeared in the living room of the Burrow.

"Hello?" Fred called into the house.

"We're here!"

George saw Hermione appear from the kitchen.

He immediately started to grin and heard Fred chuckle next to him. He ignored his twin and walked over to Hermione and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey there!" He said and saw hear beaming up at him.

"Hey." she whispered. "How have you been in the last (she checked her watch) twelve and a half hours?"

He laughed. "Great, how about you?"

She groaned. "Don't ask me. I should have stayed on your sofa again."

"Why?"

"Well lets just say Ginny and Harry lost track of time."

"THEY WERE SHAGGING AGAIN?" he exclaimed and she nodded.

"Who was shagging?" Fred's voice came from behind George and he walked up behind him and put his elbow on George's shoulder.

"You don't want to know Fred!" Hermione told him.

"No…I want to know. Tell me Georgie!" he whined and nudged George.

"She just told me that she caught Ginny and Harry again." George said dryly.

"AGAIN?"

"And that's just the times I CAUGHT them in the last week." Hermione murmured, clearly not intending to be heard but Angelina chuckled.

"Poor 'Mione!" she said and hugged her.

"Angelina!" Hermione exclaimed and hugged her back. George was surprised. He had not thought they'd be that familiar.

"So how have you been?" Angelina asked her and Hermione blushed and grinned so that George wondered what they were ACTUALLY talking about.

"Brilliant. Thank you!" Hermione answered and pulled Angelina into another hug.

George looked at his twin who watched the two girls with an equally confused expression.

"So…" Hermione said and turned towards them. "Your mum is in the kitchen with Fleur and Victoire but the others are outside. I think they're planning on playing Quidditch."

"Really?" Angelina exclaimed. "Oh let's go outside." she started pulling Fred with her but he stopped in his tracks to look back at George who didn't follow.

"Just go Freddie I wanna talk with mum about Hermione moving in." George said and smiled at Hermione.

Fred's eyes lit up. "Sorry Ang I won't miss that! Just go ahead and I'll join you later."

Angelina looked confused but just nodded, kissed him and hurried outside.

"Ready?" George asked and looked at Hermione. She just shook her head and Fred laughed.

"I think she's afraid of mum Georgie."

"I'm not afraid of her Fred I just don't want to..oh right, let's just get it over with."

She walked off towards the kitchen and Fred and George followed her.

When they entered the kitchen they were greeted by their mother, who was standing near the sink, and Fleur, who was sitting at the table with Victoire in her arms.

Molly immediately started fussing over them.

"Mum…before you start questioning us about our life, there's something Hermione and I need to tell you."

"Alright, but if there are any news why don't you wait until lunch is ready so that everyone can hear them?"

George shook his head and pulled Hermione against his side.

"No we actually wanted to avoid that mum."

he said and Hermione nodded.

"Yes Molly, we don't want Ron to start a fight or something like that again."

His mum nodded.

"Alright, so what is it?"

George saw Fred leaning against the counter and grinning at them.

"Well we just wanted to tell you that Hermione and I are going to move her things into my flat tonight."

His mum looked confused.

"But she's not going to move in for another three weeks. Today would be far too early."

Hermione shifted under his arm uncomfortably.

"I zink zey mean zat 'ermione ez going to move in earlier, non?" Fleur said.

"What?" Molly exclaimed, looking shocked.

She looked at Hermione.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because we think it's for the best, Molly."

Hermione said and George was impressed by her courage. He could practically see the anger building up in his mother.

"But you…and he…and you are… YOU CAN'T MOVE IN TOGETHER YOU AREN'T MARRIED YET!" she more or less shouted.

Hermione winced under his arm and moved further back which had the effect that George got angry. She was his mother but that didn't mean that she had the right to talk to them like that.

"Of course we can mum! We're adults so it's our decision what we DO or DON'T do! Besides. What do you think we're going to do?

Jump each other the minute she's moved in? If that was what we were after we could do that with or without living in the same flat."

He saw Fred trying to suppress a chuckle.

"He's right Molly." George heard his fathers voice from the door. He walked into the room and stood next to her.

"Besides, I'm sure they have a good reason."

George nodded. "Yes mum. We think it's better if we're able to spend more time together. She would have moved in in three weeks anyway and those two more weeks will give us some time to get used to each other. Not just at occasional dinners or lunches but in everyday life."

George's mum still seemed to be unsure.

Suddenly, Hermione spoke up.

"Molly, do you trust me?" she asked and looked his mother in the eyes.

"Of course I do!" she immediately answered.

"So if you DO trust me you will know that I would never do anything I'm not ready for, right?"

George saw his mothers shoulder sink down in defeat and had to try hard not to grin.

She'd done it. His mother wouldn't say anything against Hermione moving out now.

"Alright. I'm sorry." she said and moved forward in order to pull Hermione and George in one of her bone crushing hugs.

One hour later, the Weasleys and their fiancées were sitting around the magically enlarged garden table. They had met Audrey, Isla and Mary and George had to admit that they fit his brothers perfectly.

Audrey was just as rule obsessed as Percy and everyone could see why he'd fancied her before. Mary was, just as Ginny has said, really nice. She seemed to be unbothered by Ron's continuous side remarks at George and Hermione that was making both, George and Hermione, more and more angry.

Finally, Isla was probably the one he liked most. She was just as fiery as Ginny, Fleur, Angelina, Hermione or his mother could get and it took him only a few minutes to realize that she didn't seem to be taken aback by Charlies roughness at all.

They found out that she was, indeed, related to Dorcas Meadows who had been her uncle.

When he'd been killed her entire family had been in danger and her father and mother had decided to go to Australia and hide there. When Isla told them about their time in Australia, George felt Hermione tense next to him and he grabbed her hand under the table and stroke it soothingly, which earned him a sad smile from Hermione.

It was while they were eating their pudding when George suddenly caught his twin grinning at Ginny who was telling them about their next game.

"So Ginny, I've heard you started doing extra exercised." Fred said innocently and Hermione, who had just taken a sip of her pumpkin juice, started coughing violently but besides her, nobody seemed to get what Fred was referring to.

George decided to help him.

"Yeah Gin…we heard you were especially concentrating on man on man covering."

Hermione burst into very un-Hermione-like giggling and Harry turned bright red while Ginny threw a dark look at George, Hermione and Fred.

Bill and Charlie looked from the blushing Harry, to a giggling Hermione to the chuckling twins and realization drew on their faces.

"I didn't hear about any changings." Ron said, not understanding what was going on, as always.

"Well Ronnie, some ehm _teams _don't intend others to know about their one on one trainings." Charlie said and grinned at Harry and Ginny who were both sporting a bright red and matching angry expressions on their faces.

"But why? One on one isn't anything special. I mean everyone does it."

George wasn't able to hold it any longer. He burst into uncontrollable laughter and was soon joined by Fred, Charlie, Bill, Hermione and Angelina.

"Oh my…this is brilliant!" Hermione managed next to him.

"WHAT?" Ron exclaimed "What's so funny?"

he looked at his brothers.

"Nothing Ron." Bill said, still chuckling.

"But Ginny." Fred started, unable to let it go.

"You're a pro at this now. What do you-"

"That's enough!" Ginny's stern voice interrupted him. "You guys have had your fun, now drop it!" she was glaring at each of her brothers before turning towards Fleur in order to ask her for the pumpkin juice.

It was six o'clock when George found himself in Ginny's room with Hermione and Ginny. The others had returned to their homes and Ron and Harry had gone out for a drink with Neville.

Ginny was sitting on her bed, pouting.

"I don't get why you didn't tell me about this earlier Hermione. You're leaving tomorrow that means this is going to be our last night together."

Hermione sighed and threw a book into her trunk. "For the last time Ginny, George only asked me yesterday. Now let it go, okay?"

"Alright, alright."

"Did you see me purse?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"No."

"Do you mean this one?" George asked and pulled up a small purple purse from the ground.

"Yes! Thank you!" she exclaimed, took the purse from George and started putting clothes into it.

"What the…" George watched as she put more and more things into the purse that seemed to be way too small.

"Undetectable extension charm." Hermione said and smiled at him.

George chuckled. "Right…"

When Hermione had finished putting all her stuff into her trunk or the purse she'd take with her on her trip she followed George down the stairs who levitated her trunk in front of him.

They walked into the empty garden and George turned towards Hermione.

He looked down at her and took her hands in his. "Promise you'll be careful?"

She nodded. "I promise."

He smiled at her. "I hope so. Wouldn't want an injured wife would I!"

She just chuckled and fixed her eyes with his.

"When will you come back?"

"Dirk said we should come back by Friday afternoon. We can't go too close to Dundee by magic because we don't know if they have any contacts inside the city. That's while we'll apparate to a small town a few hundred miles away from Dundee and go their by pubic transportations. He thinks we'll be in Dundee tomorrow evening. After that we'll search for a place for a base and we'll probably go into the woods on Wednesday, if everything goes as planned. Dirk actually doesn't even think it'll take us til Friday."

George nodded.

"Okay. So when you come back, just stop by our shop okay?"

She nodded and moved up until her face was only centimetres away from his.

"So…do I get a goodnight slash goodbye kiss or what?" she whispered and George didn't even have time to wonder how straight forward she suddenly was before she pressed her lips against his and kissed him passionately. He returned eagerly and pulled her towards his chest.

Her tongue ran along his lips, he parted them immediately and their tongues met.

George felt heat running though his entire body and he couldn't help but wonder that if simply kissing her felt like this, what would other things feel like?

He groaned when she started nibbling at his lower lip and pulled her even closer. He ran his hands up and down her back before he reclaimed her lips.

It wasn't until much later that Fred finally heard George apparate into the flat.


	19. Chapter 19

**Oh,...you're SO going to hate me...but hey, that's the way I like it x**

* * *

_"But honey, you already HAVE found us; haven't you!" _

* * *

**Chapter 19**

On Wednesday morning, Hermione and the rest of the team got up at 5am in order to get ready for their day. They would finally go into the forest in order to talk to the werewolves. They had decided to go there during the day because Dirk Cresswell thought that going there during the night could be interpreted as sneeking up on the werewolves. Hermione silently agreed. One thing she had not mentioned towards George before was that she was not as confident about the mission as she had pretended to be. Of course, they wouldn't get into any serious danger (with the odds being 7-4 for them) but she didn't like the fact that Dirk and the others acted like they didn't expect anything to happen at all. They seriously expected the werewolves to openly welcome them to their hideout. How foolish could one be!

Over the last two days, Hermione had repeatedly tried to tell her colleagues that they should be more cautious but they simply laughed and said that this was only her second assignment and that, brilliant marks or not, she still needed to learn a lot.

At seven am the group had arrived at the edge of the forest and Dirk turned towards them.

"Alright, you all know the plan. We'll divide into two groups, because we do not _exactly_ know where the group will be." He apparently so the look on Hermiones face simply shook his head. "It will be just fine Hermione. I know that you are concerned about this but trust me; I've done this before."

Hermione simply nodded. Maybe she WAS overreacting. Maybe Georges fear had just gotten to her.

"So the groups will be as followed…" Dirk continued "Auror Davies, Amanda and I and auror Webber, Sebastian and Hermione; understood?"

Everyone nodded.

"Now we all know that there is one path that leads into the forest but after about 200 meters it will split into two paths. My group will take the one on the left, the group under auror Webber will take the one on the right. Even if nearly all of us are experienced in this you will avoid contacting them on you own. IF you find them, you will send a patronus to the other group, informing them of your whereabouts. The other group will then join the first group as soon as possible and we will contact them TOGETHER. Understood?"

Again, everyone nodded.

"Alright,…let's go." Dirk said and with that he led the other five witches and wizards into the forest.

* * *

Hermione immediately felt uncomfortable. The forest had seemed really nice and surprisingly bright, at least for a forest, from the outside but just after a few meters, they were surrounded by complete darkness.

She heard Dirk murmur _lumos _and his wand lit up the path at once. Hermione didn't even bother to tell him that a light in the middle of a dark forest would be a complete giveaway. He wouldn't listen to her anyway.

The others all lit there wand and after a short moment of resistance Hermione lit hers as well. What would one wand change if there were already five other showing potential danger where they were!

They walked further into the forest and separated when their path divided into two different ones. Hermione followed Emily and Sebastian, holding onto her wand tightly. She continuously looked behind her because she kept feeling like someone was watching them from behind.

She shook her head and scolded herself. She was being ridiculous. She had been in far worse situations with Harry and Ron before.

"'seen anything yet?" Sebastian whispered into the night. "Nah!" Emily replied and turned around to look at Sebastian and Hermione.

"I'm starting to think you were right Hermione. At first I didn't say anything because, well I just became an official auror about two years ago and Davis is my boss but…" she trailed off and looked around. "This is starting to get weirder and weirder. Shouldn't have Cresswell known where exactly they are hiding?" At that, Sebastian glared at her. "Not everyone is as perfect as you and your precious auror elite!" he hissed.

Hermione saw Emily glaring at him as well. "I've never said we were perfect! I'm simply saying that, like this, we are never going to find them."

"But honey, you already HAVE found us; haven't you!" A cold voice said from behind them.

Hermione froze. The three of them had been so consumed in their argument, that they had not taken notice of their surroundings anymore.

Hermione looked up and saw a large group of men and women, circling them. She didn't know how many they were but one thing was sure;

they were a hell of a lot more than four.

* * *

"Gred…" no answer.

"Georgie…" still no answer.

"GEORGE!"

George looked up from the box he had been filling with trick wands and looked at his twin.

"What's wrong? Why are you shouting like that?"

Fred chuckled.

"I'm shouting because you're not listening when I'm talking to you normally. Again."

"Sorry…" George trailed off.

"No problem. I already told you that I get you. If you can't stop worrying about her, at least stop sulking in here all the time. Distract yourself."

"I WAS working back here you know.."

Fred shook his head. "Sorting trick wands doesn't count as work Georgie. Anyways…you got an owl from mum."

He handed George a roll of parchment.

"Weird though isn't it? Normally she does write to both of us. IF she writes."

He chuckled again.

George unrolled the parchment and started to read.

"She wants me to drop by the Burrow after work today." he told his brother and frowned. "What's that about?"

"No clue." Fred said. "You haven't done anything without me, have you?"

He asked and grinned.

"'Course not!" George said with an equal grin on his face.

"Then I don't know…I'll come with you and we'll see what she wants."

George nodded, relieved. Their mother COULD get scary from time to time.

At quarter past eight, Fred and George walked into their mums kitchen.

"Boooys!" she squealed immediately and pulled them into her arms.

After a few seconds she pulled away and looked at them. "What are you doing here Fred?"

"Ouch…" Fred exclaimed and pressed his hand against his chest in mock hurt.

"Didn't know I needed permission to visit my own mother….seriously mum….you wound me!" He sighted but Molly just shook her head and laughed.

"Oh Freddie of course you're always welcome here. It's just….that I….wanted to talk to Georgie about something." She beamed up at George who was getting more and more worried with every second. Did he really NOT do anything? No…definitely not.

"He's going to tell me anyway mum." Fred said and George nodded.

Their mother sighed. "Alright…I should've known it. Okay so let's sit down okay? I've made us tee and have you boys had a proper dinner yet?"

They shook their heads. "Nah we came here directly after closing the shop."

"Thought so." Their mother said and hurried off to get the leftovers of their dinner.

By the time she came back with two plates, the twins had already sat down at the kitchen table.

They dug into their food and their mum started talking.

"Georgie…I've been thinking about your engagement with Hermione…"

George stopped eating at once and put his fork down. From the other side of the table, he saw Fred watching him.

"What about our engagement?" he said and was surprised how hostile his voice suddenly sounded.

Apparently, his mother had noticed that as well.

"There's nothing wrong with it, dear. I'd just like to know how you feel about it right now. I mean it obviously was a shock for everyone at the beginning but you've had some time to think about it by now."

George nodded but her said nothing.

"So what DO you think about it?" his mother asked for the second time.

George sighted and looked at Fred who told him, with a single look, what George already knew. He'd have to tell her something. Otherwise she'd never stop asking him about it.

"Well…like you said it was a real shock in the beginning. But I've started to kind of accept it."

Fred snorted. "That's the understatement of the century."

Their mother looked from Fred to George. "What does he mean by that?"

George glared at his twin. "Wellllll…I've started to think that it might not have been the worst thing to get matched with her. I mean like I've said before I could have done a whole lot worse. She's kind, understanding, loyal, smart, brave, beautiful….I mean we all know that I never seemed to be able to find the right witch. What if the ministry was?" he admitted slowly.

He looked up from his hands and saw that both, his mother and his twin, were beaming at him.

"I'm so glad to hear that Georgie." his mum finally said. "I never understood why you never had a serious girlfriend, handsome as you are, I always hoped you'd find someone like Fred found Angelina."

"Hermione's totally different than Ang' mum." George said.

"Though not as much as one might think!" Fred added with a smirk that, unluckily, their mother didn't miss.

She frowned and looked at George.

"I really hope you're not going to mess this up George! She's been though enough in the last years, especially the year before the final battle, and as much as I love him we don't need another Ron!"

Now, George was truly offended.

"You really expect me to treat her like that git? Thanks mum."

"You know what I mean. I don't think you would but I just wanted to make sure. She's like my second daughter after all." George nodded.

"So is that what you wanted to talk to him about?" Fred asked. "No offence mum but we really could've finished moving my stuff into the upper flat instead."

"No, of course not." she said and turned towards George.

"Georgie,…did you get Hermione an engagement ring?"

"No…" he answered, stunned. Why hadn't he thought of that? Of course, their engagement was arranged but he'd already figured out that he really, REALLY liked he and her wanted this to be as natural for her as possible.

"No I haven't…" he repeated "I can't believe I forgot it." He smacked himself and turned towards Fred. "Why didn't you remind me?" Fred just shrugged, indicating that he, obviously, had forgotten it as well.

"Well don't worry darling I've just the right thing for you." his mother said and smiled at him. They watched her as she pulled a tiny black box out of her apron and put it onto the table infront of George, who simply stared at it.

"Well….won't you open it?" she asked and grinned.

He did and found a simple, yet beautiful engagement ring in it. He looked up at his mum, obviously confused.

"It was your grandmothers engagement ring. I want you to give it to Hermione." his mother said, softly.

George stared, first at her, than at Fred who's eyes were wide open.

"Why me?" George finally managed. "Why didn't you give it to anyone else?"

His mother chuckled. "Well, it's normally being passed down from mother to daughter but since Harry had already given his mothers engagement ring to Ginny I decided that you were the best second choice."

"But why me? Why not,…I don't know Percy or Charlie or Fred?" he asked, still stunned.

"Because,…" she started with a smile "…because, as much as I love my other daughters in law, Hermione is my favourite. Like I've said she's always been like my second daughter. Easy as that."

George looked down at the ring again and smiled. It really was the perfect ring for Hermione, he thought.

"Thanks mum!" he said, stood up and hugged her.

She smiled and patted his arm. "You're welcome dear." Then she turned towards Fred.

"I just remembered something. Did you pick up your wedding ring yet?"

Fred nodded. "Yeah, it was ready on Monday."

"What does it look like?" she asked him eagerly.

You have to know that in the wizarding world, wedding rings are different than in the muggle world.

Each ring is specially being designed for the witch or wizard you marry. The witch gets the ring for her future husband and the other way round. They are both not allowed to see their ring before the actual ceremony.

What's so special about the ring is that even the stones on them are made for the person wearing them later. That way each ring is unique and only suitable for that person and no one else.

Fred was just about to describe the ring when a green light lit up the kitchen and a second later a figure stumbled out off the fireplace, coughing and covered in ash.

They watched how Harry pulled out his wand, cleaned himself and turned towards them.

George immediately knew that something was wrong. He'd only seen that expression on Harry's face on a few occasions. And none of them had been nice.

Their mother immediately got up and started fussing over him but Harry ignored her and turned towards George.

"George, I'm sorry to say this, but I think you should come to with me." He said in a voice that didn't even sound like him.

"It's Hermione."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

* * *

_She didn't know how many they were but one thing was sure;_

_they were a hell of a lot more than four._

* * *

Hermione's eyes widened in fear at the sight of the witches and wizards surrounding them. She obviously didn't have time to count them but there had to be at least twenty of them. Twenty against three…just…great. A small part of her was even satisfied. She'd known something would go wrong,…that there'd been something fishy about the whole thing. But the other, dominating, part of her was terrified. How on earth was she supposed to get out of this alive? But before she could even think of a way to get out she saw Emily flip her wand and a patronus in form of a large panther rushed away into the night.

She then heard the same cold voice sneer "You really shouldn't have done that!" and within seconds, they were attacked.

Hermione was just able to put up a protego charm in front of her when she heard a voice shout _"Expulso!" _and she fell the ground around her shield shake. She saw that Emily and Sebastian were both cornered by about seven witches and wizards. From the corner of her eyes she saw Dirk and the other two running towards them and about half of the attackers turned away from Hermione, Emily and Sebastian in order to fight them.

Still, they were too many, she thought. One against at least three is still too much. She was brought back from her thoughts when she fell her cheek burn. A cutting curse had obviously gone past her shield and finally destroyed it.

She looked towards the direction the spell had come from and saw that she was now facing three wizards and a witch. All of them looked disgusting, there really was no better word to describe them, and every single one of them grinned at her evilly. Hermione started firing spell after spell at them in an immense speed. Expelliarmus, Confringo, Reducto, everything she could think of while trying to protect herself from her attackers.

Although the four of them were obviously not even putting in everything possible, Hermione had to fight with all that was in her. She was disgusted by the look on their faces that told her that they were, until then, only playing with her. A part in the very back of her head was confused by this. There were of course exceptions, like Remus, but normally werewolves weren't that skilled. They decided against witches, wizards and magic because they felt suppressed by them. So why where they that good at magic?

With time, she got hit by more and more curses. Mostly cutting curses broke through her defence and she had to struggle hard in order not to cry out in pain each time another part of her body was cut open.

"Feisty, that one is!" one of the guys sneered and grinned in her direction.

The man next to him sniggered while throwing a Expulso in her direction she was able to dodge. "And quite a looker too. Might not want to kill her right away." The two men next to him sniggered and the woman smirked.

"'Damn right you are…not much fun when theyr' dead now, are they?" the third man barked and Hermione saw with horror how he slowly took in every inch of her body with a lustful expression on his face.

At that moment she knew that she'd never let that happen. As long as she could defend herself she'd rather kill herself than get touched by these monsters. She pulled all her strength together and shot a stunning spell towards them which was so strong that it knocked the woman off her feet. She flew against the next tree and sunk to the ground, unconsciously.

Hermione had about three second to carol for taking one of them out before she realized that she'd only made the whole thing worse. Werewolves were pack creatures and despite the fact that they'd only played with her before, after watching her take down one of them, they started to get dead serious.

Suddenly, Hermione flew backwards through the air. She felt her wand fly out of her hand before she hit the ground painfully hard. She looked up in horror and saw three faces staring down at her.

All three of them raised their wands and pointed them at her. _"Sectumsempra!"_

she heard them shout before every inch of her body started to hurt. It wasn't like the Crucio, but it was close. She felt as if she was being slashed by a sword. Over and over and over again. The cuts she had received earlier, as painful as they had seemed, were NOTHING compared to this.

She vaguely remembered that she'd only once felt like this before. When Bellatrix had tortured her.

She screamed out loud in agony and felt the blood run out of each cut and all over her body. She heard them laugh and her view became indistinct. Her body burned as if she'd been thrown into fiend fire.

Her eyes closed slowly and the last thing she saw was Georges face before she drifted away.

* * *

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? YOU CAN'T TELL US ANYTHING? I'M HER BLOODY FIANCÉ! I HAVE EVERY DAMN RIGHT TO KNOW HOW SHE IS!" George barked at the mediwitch in front of him. He felt Fred's hand on his shoulder but he just shrugged it off.

"This is not about you not having the right to know how Miss Granger is doing Mr. Weasley." the witch replied calmly.

"THEN WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU TELLING ME ANYTHING?"

She smiled at him sadly before answering. "I'm not telling you because there IS nothing to tell you. I am really sorry Mr. Weasley but your fiancée is still in surgery. I was just on my way in to help them so if you want her chances to rise you should let me go inside."

"She's right Georgie!" his mother said and put her hand on Georges arm. "You're only holding her back from helping Hermione. I'm sure that they'll do their best and she'll tell us as soon as she knows something." She turned towards the mediwitch. "Won't you?"

"Of course!" she replied and with that she rushed past them towards a room at the end of the corridor.

Harry, Fred and his mother pushed and pulled George towards the sitting area and the later sat down on either side of him while Harry stood in front of him.

He stared at the floor, remembering the minutes after Harry had stumbled into the Burrow. Harry had told them that Hermione had been brought to and that it was serious. Nothing more, nothing less. Granted, Harry probably would have explained more but it had only taken George a few seconds to run towards the fireplace and floo to .

He looked up at Harry. "What happened?" he asked with a raspy voice.

At his question, anger flashed over Harrys he sighed.

He walked over to get a chair and sat down in front of the three Weasleys.

"Do you know what kind of mission she was on?" he asked George and he nodded.

"They were sent to a forest near Dundee to handle a werewolf problem. They were sent in a group of six. Four ministry workers, including Hermione, and two aurors. They were supposed to locate the werewolves and bring them to the ministry for questioning." Harry nodded, while Mrs. Weasley listened in shock.

"That's right." Harry said. "What did you think when Hermione told you about the mission?"

"I told her that I was scared that she'd get hurt." George answered, not sure where Harry was going with this.

"And what did she say?"

"She said that she understood but that I wouldn't have to worry because there'd only be four werewolves who were also considered relatively harmless." George said and Harry nodded again. "Do you see where it might have gone wrong George?"

he ask with a grim look.

Before George could even start thinking her heard his mother gasp and Fred froze next to him.

"There…there were more than four of them, weren't there?" Fred asked and put an arm around Georges shoulder.

Harry nodded.

"How many?" George managed.

Harry sighed and looked at his shoes without answering.

"How many were there Harry?" George asked, more forcefully.

"We couldn't count. But from what I've heard,…about 25 of them."

"TWENTY FIVE?" Fred and George exclaimed in shock.

"How the hell could they be THAT wrong?" Fred asked angrily.

"I honestly don't know. I haven't been familiar with the case until this afternoon. I know that Dirk Cresswell got a tip about werewolves, illegally grouping in a forest near Dundee so he put together a team to go there. Rule at the ministry is that you always have to have 50% more witches or wizards on your team than the 'target' has. In operations concerning groupings of dangerous creatures that are larger than three creatures, one third of the ministry group has to consist of aurors.

Now the auror that was assigned to the case is, well… lets just say I don't like him very much. The only reason I didn't talk to Kingsley before was the fact that the other auror on the case was Emily Webber and she is known to be a good auror. Even though she just became one two years ago.

So since they were informed that there would be four werewolves, Dirk took three other ministry workers and two aurors with him.

But now we know that, apparently, his informations were incorrect. Why?…I don't know, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will investigate that." Harry said. Silence followed his words until George spoke up again.

"So what happened exactly?" he asked, his voice still husky.

"Apparently they walked into the forest and Dirk divided them into two groups. Each of them was supposed to follow one of the two paths. The next thing I know is that the group Hermione was in was cornered by that group of about 25 werewolves, obviously in there human form. Emily was able to send a patronus to Dirk before the actually attack started and when Dirk and the other two got it the sent another patronus to the auror headquaters and hurried to help them. Still… even when they arrived to help the odds were still one against four of them."

George vaguely heard his mother sob next to him but he ignored it.

"I was at the headquaters when the patronus arrived and I, along with twelve other aurors who were there at that moment directly apparated to the forest. By coincidence we directly appeared at the scene of the fight and…" but he shuddered and didn't seem to be able to continue.

George stared at the young man infront of him, not really seeing him.

25-6! He shook his head. He had known it. He'd known this wouldn't end well. He felt, as cheesy as it may sound, as if his heart had been ripped out off his body. Why did this have to happen? Why did the people HE loved most always have to get hurt so badly? First Fred, now Hermione.

That made him hesitate. Love. He'd just thought that he loved Hermione. But did he really? Or was he just thinking that because he might loose her! Wasn't it way too soon to be in love with her? He remembered words he had heard before, although he couldn't remember who had said them. Yes, it is fast. But TOO fast? Not at all. There was no time when you loved someone. You either loved someone or you didn't. Time wasn't important, not really. And so, at that moment, he knew he loved her, with all his heart.

But it didn't feel the way he'd always expected it to feel. He wasn't feeling like he was floating. He didn't feel any butterflies in his stomach. No. He felt miserable. He felt like all the happy memories had been sucked out off his head by a dementor and he now only remembered the bad ones. Ginny, nearly getting killed in the Chamber of Secrets. Ron, nearly dying from poison. His dad, nearly being killed by a giant snake. Bill, nearly being killed by Fenrir Greyback. Fred, apparently dead.

He wouldn't be able to stand it if Hermione really would die. Even the thought of it made him want to run away as fast and as far as he could.

But he couldn't. He needed to know what Harry had found. How Hermione was. So he swallowed hard and looked at Harry again.

"What did you find when you apparated there? Please Harry, tell me."

Harry studied him for a few seconds and nodded.

"I-it was like the final battle again. Just way smaller version but still. We apparated and I immediately saw five bodies lying on the ground. They looked horrible. One of the ministry workers, I think his name was Sebastian or something,…well… his right arm was lying about two meters away from him." he shook his head.

"I'll better just spare you the details. We checked on all of them, but they were all dead. Except for one. Dirk Cresswell. He'd been able to hide himself with an invisibility charm at the last minute. He was conscious, but barely. He's here in now."

"What about Hermione?" George heard his mother ask. "You said you only saw five bodies when you arrived."

Harry nodded and took a deep breath.

"Yes. As soon as I saw she wasn't among them, I told the others that we had to go looking for her. It didn't take us long to find her. They must have pushed her away from the main fighting scene or something because she was lying on the ground, about fifteen meters away from there."

George shuddered. He had noticed how Harry had again and again avoided telling them in which state Hermione had actually been found in. One part of him didn't want to know. But the other-

"So…" Fred interrupted his thoughts.

"H-how was she?" He asked and George felt Freds gaze on him.

"Do you really want to-" Harry started to ask but George simply nodded.

Harry sighted for what felt like the 100th time in the last hour and continued.

"She looked horrible. One of her legs and one of her arms were standing off in a really weird direction. Don't know how to describe it. It looked just….WRONG…unhealthy or unnatural. But that wasn't the worst part. She was covered in blood. I doubt I've ever seen that much blood around one single person before. She was practically soaked with it. When we got closer I saw that there were cuts all over her body. And with cuts and all over I mean cuts that were more than five centimetres long and in every possible place. Her arms, her legs, her face,….." he drifted off, wiping a tear from his face. "… the…her clothes had been torn apart by what they hit her with. At least that's what I, as bad as it sounds, hope what it was. They were practically shredded into pieces in some parts. You could see that her stomach was covered with cuts as well." he went silent again and started staring into the distance, a pained expression on his face.

A few minutes before, George had thought that he couldn't feel worse. Now he knew that he could. He'd hardly ever felt as much hate towards anyone as he felt towards those bastards that had done this to his fiancée. He wondered why the floor and the seat he was sitting on were shaking until her realized that HE was the one who was shaking. Violently.

He felt how Fred pulled him towards his chest and into a hug, while his mother stroke his back.

He held onto his twin as if he'd drown the second he'd let got of him, still shaking uncontrollably.

"But she wasn't…." he heard his mother whisper towards Harry, Obviously thinking he couldn't hear her.

"No…" Harry said. "She was alive. Barely so and of course unconscious. I apparated her here and they took her into surgery at once. After that I got to the Burrow as fast as I could."

"She's going to be fine." His mother said, more to herself than to them but it made George's head snap up from Fred's chest and glare at his mother. "How do you know that? You heard him! She's practically dead!"

He saw how his mother opened her mouth but Fred beat her to it.

"Georgie." he started and made George turn towards him again. "You know that doesn't mean she's not going to make it. You know she's strong. She wouldn't have made it through years of being best friends with Mr. Chosen-One here." he said and threw a small smile towards Harry.

George laughed silently.

"He's right George." Harry skipped in.

"She-she's been through bad stuff in the past, especially while we were on the run and she's made it through all of that."

"What do you mean 'especially while we were on the run'? What happened?" George asked but Harry simply shook his head.

"That's not for me to tell George, I'm sorry. Ask her when she's awake and if she wants to tell you it's okay. If she doesn't,…well…I think then you should just let it go."

George nodded reluctantly.


	21. Chapter 21

******I know that my last two chapters had quite a few spelling mistakes, but I didn't have time to reread them. Since my exams are finally over (yaaaaaay) I hope that'll change now ^^ Have fun**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

It was half past eleven at night and he still had not heard anything from the healers. He was still sitting in the same chair as before, but they had been joined by the rest of their family as soon as they had gotten her mum's patroni. Everyone was there, even the fiancées that had just 'entered' the family. Everyone except for Ron, but right now, George couldn't care less.

A few chairs away from him, Ginny was sleeping with her head in Harry's lap while he was slowly running his fingers through her hair. Next to him, Fred was talking to Angelina silently.

George just kept staring at the floor in front of him. That's what he'd been doing ever since his family had arrived.

His head shot up when he heard someone walk towards them and he saw the same mediwitch he had shouted at hours before approach them.

He stood up hastily and looked at her expectantly.

"Mr. Weasley…" she started slowly, looking very tired.

"We're finally through with everything."

He nodded. "And…?"

"She made it." she just answered and smiled at him.

George exhaled breath he had not realized he'd been holding and felt Fred's reassuring hand on his back again.

"Really?" he asked reluctantly, not daring to believe she actually HAD made it.

"Yes. I'm not going to lie to you. We were not sure she was going to. Actually,…all the odds were against that outcome. She had so many injuries." she shook her head.

"Which?" came Ginny's voice from his right. He hadn't realized his family had gathered around them.

"Well…" she started reluctantly, obviously not sure if she should tell them. "We can take it!" George said and the others nodded.

"Okay. We cast a charm to display what she had been hit with and in which order at the beginning to figure out what we were up against. It seems like, in the beginning of the fight, she'd been hit by various cutting curses but there were always big gaps between them which indicates that she put up quite a fight against them which is impressive since the cuts came from four different wands."

George felt a flash of pride running through him. He'd always known she was a hell of a fighter but he was proud anyway.

"Those cuts obviously hurt quite a bit.." the mediwitch continued "…but they weren't what brought her down. She was hit by a very strong charm which probably caused her to be thrown several meters back. You can tell that she landed on her back with her arm underneath her because of the strange angle it stood in."

George swallowed hard and Fred's hand dug into his back painfully. But he didn't really feel it. All his thoughts were on Hermione.

"But that doesn't explain all the blood." Harry said. "These cutting curses would have caused her to bleed, yes, but not….not that much." he shuddered and Ginny wrapped her arm around him.

"You're right Mr. Potter. It didn't stop after that. Apparently, she was hit by not one, but three Sectumsempra curses." the mediwitch explained.

George heard several gasps around him and he felt like he was about to faint. He stumbled backwards and immediately felt Fred and Charlie grab him at his arms. They led him back towards the chair he'd been sitting on and Fred knelt down in front of him while Bill and Charlie set down on both sides of him.

He merely took notice of all of that. The expression on his face had gone blank.

Three Sectumsemra curses. THREE.

He had heard about Harry accidentally cursing Malfoy with it in his sixth year and even that one curse had been bad enough.

"Georgie…" he suddenly heard his twins voice from what seemed to be miles away. "Georgie she's alive. You heard the mediwitch. She made it! She's not going to die!" he rubbed George's knee.

"He's right George!" Bill said and wrapped an arm around his younger brother.

"I know it's hard, but at least she's alive!"

That caused a thought to come up in his mind. "Why-why is she though?" he asked slowly.

"What do you mean 'why is she'?" Charlie asked from his other side.

"I-I mean…they-they killed all of them, didn't they? Cresswell just survived because they couldn't find him. Wh-why didn't they k-kill her?" he stuttered.

A few minutes of silence followed, when everyone thought about it. Then, finally, Harry spoke.

"They must have thought she was dead. I mean…she-she nearly was when we found her…the only explanation is that they thought she WAS." That made sense, George thought.

He thought about everything that had happened in the last few hours. Everything he'd been told. He was being ridiculous. Here he was, falling apart, while Hermione probably needed him. His brothers were right. She WASN'T dead. She HAD made it and he'd only make things worse if he didn't take care of her.

He stood up and looked at the mediwitch. "How is she now?" he asked, while everyone stared at him at his sudden change of behaviour.

The mediwitch offered him a small smile. "As good as she can be under the circumstances I guess. She's asleep now. She has a broken arm and a broken leg which we couldn't heal magically because of all the other dark curses. Luckily, we have an expert on dark curses here who was able to treat the Sectumsempra cuts. It took him hours because, as you know, it's very dark magic, and there were so many of them. We had to wrap her arms, legs and torso up in bandages for now in order to make the healing paste under them sink into the wounds slowly. We're hopeful that there won't be any scars left. Of course we couldn't heal the old ones on her arm anymore."

"Which old ones?" Ginny asked before George could, but before the mediwitch could say anything Harry chipped in.

"It doesn't matter Ginny." he said and although his voice was calm, there was a tone in it that made anyone from questioning any further.

"How long until she can get out off here?" his mother asked and he looked at the mediwitch.

"It depends on how she feels when she wakes up. We think it's not necessary for her to stay here but when she gets home she WILL have to stay in bed for a few more days and rest! She'll also have to have the bandages and healing past exchanged twice a day. If there's no one who can do that she will have to stay here."

George saw his mother nod. "That will be no problem. She can come home with us and I will-"

"No!" George interrupted her before she could go any further.

"What do you mean 'no'!" his mother asked him.

"I mean no- no she won't go back to the Burrow. We already planned that she'd move in with me after her mission. All her things are at my place."

"But George!…" his mother started, looking appalled. "She can't stay with you NOW!"

"And why's that?" Fred asked, stepping next to his twin.

"Be-because…" his mum started "well you heard the mediwitch! Hermione will need help. And I'm not sure she'll be comfortable with getting it from the two of you. And I'm not sure I am either!"

Neither Fred, nor George said anything. Her certainly had not considered that part. Still,…he didn't want Hermione to go back to the Burrow. Especially not now.

Luckily, Angelina came to his aide.

"That won't be a problem Molly." she said and smiled at her soon to be mother-in-law self confident.

"Fred and I have already moved all of my stuff into the upper flat with him and that way I'll be able to help Hermione with her bandages twice a day. And if anything should come up…." –

"…I'll go there to help her." Ginny skipped in.

George felt like he'd never liked them that much before.

"But…." his mother started, apparently not giving up that fast.

"But what if she needs something during the day? You'll all be at work! I would be at home!"

"Our shop is right under the flat mum!" Fred said. "We can be with her in a few seconds if we have to."

She still didn't seem to be convinced.

When it looked as if she was about to protest again, her husband spoke up.

"Molly,…I think you should let it go. They all have it perfectly planned and this way Hermione will be able to get herself comfortable in her new home just like it was planned. You can't keep telling them what to do. They are adults."

When she didn't seem to say anything more, George smiled at his father gratefully.

Then he turned towards the mediwitch again.

"So,…can I see her now?" he asked and she nodded.

"Of course she can. But no more than two visitors."

George looked at the others and then glanced from Fred to Ginny and Harry hopefully.

"Just take Fred with you! We'll go see her later!" Ginny said and smiled at him.

With that Fred and George followed the mediwitch away from the sitting area and along a corridor.

* * *

When Hermione woke up, she felt that she was lying on something soft. She didn't open her eyes right away, trying to remember what had happened.

Images came flashing into her mind. The forest-darkness-werewolves-pain-blood- and then –nothing. She felt tears building up in her eyes when she remembered the pain but at the same time, she was surprised that she didn't feel any now. Why? Where was she? Was she dead? That seemed to be the only explanation for the fact that she wasn't in any pain. She felt a tear escape her eyes and run down her cheek.

"'Mione?" she heard a soft voice ask.

George? How could George be where she was? That meant that he was dead too, didn't it? But he couldn't be dead!

She felt a hand brush over her cheek and she opened her eyes slowly.

She was in a bed with a white blanked wrapped over her. George was sitting in a chair right next to her, holding her hand and Fred was standing right behind him.

She looked back at George and saw a huge grin forming in his face.

"Oh my god 'Mione! I'm so glad you're awake!" he said and Hermione saw tears building up in his eyes as well.

"Where am I?" she asked hoarsely.

"In !" Fred offered and smiled down at her. She nodded.

"Do you remember what happened?" George asked slowly and rubbed the back of her hand. She nodded again.

"I thought I was dead."

She felt his finger freeze on her hand but he seemed unable to say anything.

"'Course you're not, silly!" Fred said, obviously trying to lighten up the mood and moved around George in order to stand next to her.

Hermione looked down her arms and frowned. "I look like a mummy."

Now, even George chuckled. "Yeah I'm afraid you do 'Mione. And you haven't even seen the rest of you."

She rose an eyebrow which now caused Fred to chuckle.

"He means that the rest of you is covered in bandages as well, geeze Hermione."

She was about to reply when a mediwitch walked into the room.

"Ah Miss Granger." she said and smiled. "I'm glad you're with us again. Now, how are you feeling?"

"Good actually, I don't feel any pain. Although I don't understand why. I would've thought I would be in quite a lot." Fred sniggered and looked at the mediwitch. "Told you…"

The witch smiled and looked at Hermione again. "Well I'm afraid that's because of the pain killers Miss Granger. We gave you quite a dose last night so that you'd be able to have a peaceful sleep. I'm afraid they will wear off quite soon."

Hermione nodded.

"Can't you give her another dose?" George asked and looked at her, concern written all over his face.

"I'm afraid not. Not right away at least. We will have to let it wear off so that you can describe what sort of pain you're still in Miss Granger and where it is. After that we will give you a potion that will reduce the pain but it won't go away completely. We can't use the same potion we used last night because it's a really strong one and it's dangerous to use too much of it. I hope you can understand that."

Hermione nodded again. "Of course I can. So what exactly happens now? I mean I AM going to be alright, aren't I?"

The witch nodded. "Of course you are. I already explained everything to your fiancé so if you don't mind, I'll go on with my rounds and let him explain everything to you."

"Yes that's quite alright." Hermione said and smiled at George.

After the mediwitch left, George told her everything about the state she was in.

"So when will I be able to get out of here?" she asked.

"She said you could go home today if you're feeling up for it. But you'll have to stay in bed for a few days to rest. And you'll have to have your bandages changed twice a day."

Hermione looked confused.

"But- George where will I…"

"I told them I'd take you home with me. To our flat I mean. If that's alright with you. Gin and Ang already offered to change your bandages twice a day and I'll be right downstairs during the day and in the next room during the night if you need anything."

Hermione looked at him in awe.

"George that's…that's really nice of you but you shouldn't have to take care of me like that. I could stay here until I get better."

But George just shook his head, as did Fred.

"'Mione I don't mind taking care of you. Unless you don't want me to I'd prefer having you around me as soon as possible. I really don't want anyone else to take care of you."

Fred sniggered. "He's right Hermione. You should've seen him. Mum wanted to take you back to the Burrow with her but he flat out refused."

That made her smile. "Really?"

"Really." Fred said.

"So do you want to come home with me?" George asked and she nodded.

"I'd love to."

They smiled at each other for a few minutes until Hermione remembered something.

"What happened to the others George?" she asked and he frowned.

"Dirk Cresswell is here as well. A few rooms down the corridor. He got off way better than you did. Not that he deserved it…."

"And the others?"

He didn't look her in the eye or say anything but she understood him right away.

"They are dead? All for of them?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She didn't know what to say. She had not liked them very much, except for Emily, but they didn't deserve this.

She felt tears running down her face again.

George stood up, sat down on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms.

She heard Fred say that he'd go and tell the others she was awake but she knew, that he actually just wanted to leave them alone.

She lay her head against George's chest and started to sob, while George stroke her hair.

She didn't know why she was so upset about the whole thing. She had neither known nor liked the others much.

But she couldn't help but remember the fear written on their faces or the fear she felt when they had discovered, that they were surrounded by way more werewolves than they had expected.


	22. Chapter 22

**Thank you for being so patient guys :) I hope you'll like it**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

It was Thursday afternoon and after one final examination, Hermione was finally allowed to go home.

'Home'…that term had been used for Georges flat by practically everyone and although she'd never lived there it wasn't weird or strange. It just felt…right. Hermione had been visited by the entire Weasley clan, plus fiancées, Harry, Neville, Luna, Hagrid and even Kingsley. Now she was just happy to go to her new home and get some silence.

The door to her room opened and George walked in, followed by Fred. Both of them were grinning.

"Ready to go 'Mione?" George asked and stopped next to her bed.

"Yes." she answered and smiled at him.

"Did you ask the healers if the aurors had brought my bag here?"

"I did." Fred said and held her bag up. "I'll take it to the flat when George takes you."

She nodded and thanked him.

She sat up in her bed and swung her legs over the side of it in order to stand up. She immediately figured that that had been a bad idea.

The moment she stood up straight she started to feel dizzy. She started swaying on her feet dangerously before George wrapped his arms around her to hold her up.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked and lifted her up.

"What are YOU doing?" she replied while her feet left the ground and she grabbed George's shirt in shock.

"Taking you home of course." he said and smiled down at her.

"I know but…but…I can walk! You don't have to carry me." she mumbled and blushed.

Fred sneered. "Yeah right…you can't even stand up straight yet but you expect us to believe you can walk."

"But…you don't have to…I'm way to heavy for you to carry me all the way."

George smirked down at her and shook his head. "No you're not. And now,…stop arguing. I'm going to carry you, end of discussion. Unless you'd rather prefer Fred here to carry you." he offered and rose an eyebrow.

Hermione shook her head violently and grabbed his shirt even tighter.

The matching grins on the twins faces made her blush even more.

"Oh shut it you two!" she said, unable to hide a grin either.

"Just take me home."

They walked out off the room and into the main hall which was open for aparations. She felt George's grip on her tighten, he spun around and the next second their flat came into view.

"I thought you put up a permanent anti-aparation shield." she said when George lay her down on one of the sofas.

"We did but we altered it so that Fred, Ang and I can get through it without any problems. Fred added you to the list this morning as well." he smiled and sat down on the table in front of the sofa.

"Do you need anything? Something to eat maybe?" he asked and looked her over.

"Yes... ehm... something to eat would be nice." she said, feeling uncomfortable for having to ask for it. "Just something small."

"Ang made some soup before she had to go to training Forge.." Fred's voice came from behind the sofa.

"She put it in the kitchen. I think it's onion soup or something. She said she always saw how much you liked it at school, Hermione."

She nodded and smiled. "That's right. Tell her thank you from me, will you?"

He nodded and turned towards George.

"You'll be alright here? I should go downstairs and look if Lee hasn't done too much damage to the shop."

George laughed. "We'll be fine, thanks."

Fred nodded, gave Hermione a smile and walked out of the flat.

"Sooo… soup it is. What would you like to drink?" George asked.

"Anything you have here will be fine."

Hermione answered and smiled at him shyly.

He shook his head and laughed. "'Mione, honestly…stop feeling embarrassed because someone has to take care of you. You don't have to. For the last time,…I actually pretty much enjoy this. Not the reason for it of course. So what do you want?"

"Do you have pumpkin juice here?"

"'course we have." he said, stood up and walked into the kitchen.

After a few minutes he came back, levitating two trays in front of him. Hermione sat up against the sofa pillows and he put one with a steaming bowl of soup, a slice of bread and a cup of juice onto her lap.

The other one landed on the table and he sat down on the floor next to it, leaning against the sofa she was lying on.

Hermione tried the soup and sighed. "This is SO much better than the hospital food or the one we had on our mission." she said and smiled at George. "Thank you."

"Your welcome."

They both finished their meal relatively fast and after George had brought the trays back into the kitchen he knelt down infront of her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and stroke some hair out of her face.

"Not too bad." she said. "I'm just really tired. Do you have to go downstairs and help Fred?"

George shook his head. "No not today. Do you want me to bring you into your room?"

She shook her head. "No…I'd like to stay with you a little bit longer if that's okay for you. I don't really fancy being alone right now to be honest."

He smiled.

"That's alright. But you know,... I could still take you to your bed and stay in a chair next to until you fall asleep. You know the mediwitch said that you have to rest a lot in the first days and your bed is way more comfortable than this sofa."

She nodded and he picked her up again. He carried her towards the door on the left and opened it. The room looked pretty much like Georges but the walls were painted in a dark purple.

George walked over to the bed and lay her down gently.

"Fred painted his walls purple?" she asked and George chuckled.

"No, of course not. It was some sort of green but he had so much Quidditch posters on them over the last years that they left quite some marks from not being in the sunlight when we took them off and your favourite colour IS purple so I decided to simply repaint it instead of freshing up the old colour."

"You really did that for me?" she asked and he nodded. "Sure, why not? I mean it really isn't that much of a big deal. We can do magic, remember?" he asked cheekily.

Hermione laughed. "Right. Sometimes I still forget that."

George chuckled and shook his head.

"You should really get some sleep now. Mum would kill me if you didn't rest properly. I had to promise her that I'd make you stay in bed."

Hermione nodded. "But I want you here with me." she said shyly and looked at him.

"Sure. I told you I'd stay here and wait until you fall asleep." he answered and pulled a chair over from one corner of the room.

"No, I mean that I want you to lie down with me George." she specified and blushed again. "I-if that would be alright with you." She watched the expression on his face go from shock to wonder until he finally smiled and nodded.

"Of course it's alright with me." he said and walked around to the other side of the bed. He lay down, pulled her towards him and she snuggled against his side happily.

"Are you really alright ?" he asked, while caressing her neck with his fingertips.

She nodded until she realized that he couldn't see her. "Yes I really am. I mean the cuts do hurt a little bit but that's normal."

"You'd tell me if it got worse, wouldn't you?" he asked silently.

"Of course I would." she said whilst thinking that she, actually, probably wouldn't.

They fell silent and after a while Hermione's eyelids grew heavier and heavier until they finally closed and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

_He walked up the stairs to their flat slowly. He'd been out to the 'Golden Phoenix' with Fred and Lee that night._

_He opened the front door slowly in order not to wake Hermione up. He didn't turn on the lights either. He knew his way through the flat so good that he didn't need to. He walked a few steps into the darkness and, suddenly, he slipped on something and fell to the ground._

_He swore and felt that his hands were wet. He grabbed his wand out of his pocked, lit it and what he saw made his stomach churn. His hands were covered in blood. And it wasn't his._

_He struggled to get up to his feet and saw that he'd slipped in a small puddle of the same blood. His heart began to beat abnormally fast. He saw that a trail of blood led away from the puddle and into the darkness beyond the light of his wand. He swallowed and stumbled forward to follow the trail._

_One part of him didn't want to though._

_He followed it to the door of the room they'd made their bedroom after he had married Hermione. The door had been blasted out off it's angles. _

_He stumbled into the room and the light of his wand fell on a small body, lying on the floor in front of their bed in a puddle of blood that was about ten times bigger than the one he'd slipped on. He recognized the all to familiar bushy brown hair at once and a sob built up in his throat. He rushed towards her, slid down onto the ground next to her and turned her around._

_A pair of lifeless, chocolate brown eyes stared back at him. He started shaking violently and while he pressed his dead wife against him a scream of pure agony escaped his lips._

He heard that someone was calling him. But he didn't recognize the voice and neither did he understand what the person was saying. He didn't react. He couldn't. It was just too much. She couldn't be dead.

He realized that he was still shaking violently. He suddenly felt a hand on his cheek and the voice became clearer. It couldn't be….

"George…" the soft voice said. "George wake up. Please…" it really was her voice….but how could it be?

"George you've had a nightmare. It's alright. Nothing has happened. You're safe here." she said and his eyes flew open.

He was lying in the bed in Fred's old room on his back and Hermione was looking down on him, worry written all over her face.

She pushed a strain of wet hair out off his face and, to his immense shame, he started to sob.

Hermione lay down close to him, pressed his head against her chest and wrapper her broken arm around him as good as she could.

She started striking his hair and whispered into his ear.

"It's alright George. Everyone is safe. Nothing is going to happen. We're in your flat remember? Nothing is going to happen to you here."

After a few minutes he finally managed to calm down.

He looked up at her and frowned.

"I'm sorry for falling apart like this. Don't wanna know what you're thinking now.." he murmured and looked ashamed.

"Nonsense. I'm not thinking bad of you now. Everyone falls apart from time to time. It's perfectly normal. I really don't think any less of you, I promise." she said and wiped a few remaining tears off his cheek.

"But I'm supposed to take care of you 'Mione. Not the other way around." he said hoarsely.

"That doesn't mean that I can't take care of you as well, does it? I thought you weren't one of these guys that thought women were helpless and standing lower then them." she said and frowned.

"Of course I'm not. You know that's not what I meant."

"Then don't say things like that." she said with a stern, yet gentle voice.

"We said that we wanted to make this whole thing work and that means that we have to take care of EACH OTHER. Okay?" she asked and he nodded.

Hermione caressed his cheek and smiled down at him.

"Do you want to tell me what your nightmare was about? It might help."

He sighed. "It was about you."

"Ah and I make you scream like this? Thanks George." she teased but he shook his head.

"I-I was coming home from the pub. We were already married and I slipped in the dark and when I lit up my wand I found blood. It was on my hands. That's what I slipped on. A puddle of blood. I followed a trail of it to our bedroom and…" he shuddered " … and I found you, lying on the floor, covered in your own blood and when I went down to pull you in my arms you just stared up at me." he let out another sob. "Y-you were dead 'Mione." he said and looked into her eyes.

He saw how they grew big in understanding and the next thing felt was her pressing him into the mattress. She carefully moved over him as good as she could and started pressing feather light kisses on every part of his face while whispering in between each kiss.

"I'm - so - sorry - hon" she stopped and looked into his eyes. "I'm really sorry you had to go through that but I'm alright. I'm here with you and unless you want me to I'm not going anywhere." With that she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. Her kiss started slowly but reassuringly. It told them all she had just said. That she really wouldn't go anywhere. Soon though, it grew more fierce and passionate and he felt all his fears disappear. One small part was glad that his brothers couldn't see him or hear his thoughts right then. He'd never hear the end of it.

After minutes, Hermione pulled away from him, breathing as fast as he was.

"Did you just call me 'hon'?" he asked and smiled at her.

As usually, she blushed and bit her lip.

"Yeah…kinda hoped you didn't hear that."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because it's embarrassing. I remember how much I hated it when Lavender or the other girls in our house ran around calling their boyfriends with cheesy nicknames. And now I'm one of them." she groaned and buried her face in his chest.

He chuckled. "I don't mind. I actually like it quite a bit. Kinda makes me feel special."

She hit him playfully with her left arm and hissed immediately. He frowned for a second until he remembered her injuries. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten them. He was supposed to make sure that she rested and lay down and here she was, practically lying on top of him. Not what the healer had meant with 'lying down'.

He pushed her off him carefully and made her lie down on the bed again.

"I can't believe I let you do this." he spoke out his thoughts. "YOU are supposed to rest and not jump your fiancé." He said and smiled down at her.

She turned a brilliant shade of red and glared at him. "That's not what I did. I was just trying to distract you and make you feel better."

"And it certainly worked." he said and kissed her forehead. "But I don't want you to do this again until you're fully healed, got that?"

"But what if I want to kiss you?" she asked and pouted.

George laughed. "Didn't remember you being so eager." he chuckled. "Or did you eat some of the sweets again without me noticing?"

She laughed silently. "No…it's just that I'd like the opportunity IF I'd like to snog my fiancé. Not that that's the case…" she teased him and he smirked. "You're lucky that I'm not allowed to tickle you right now…otherwise you'd have to pay for that one."

"Well then we'll just have to skip the tickling part and go straight to the distracting part, don't we?" she asked and licked her lips.

It didn't take him more than a second to press his lips on hers.

* * *

_As always: REVIEW TIIIMEEE! xD_  
_~Emjezz_


	23. Chapter 23

_Okay guys... I'd like to answer the questions of some of your reviews or comment on them to make some things clear. Some were wondering why I was changing the way George and Hermione were acting towards each other so much. The answer is that they are still at the beginning of a relationship the were FORCED into. Remember that they just found out about their matches about two weeks ago. They have already fallen for each other but they don't really know it and/or don't really want to admit it because (again: just two weeks) they know that falling in love so fast is completely crazy; so they struggle with their feelings. Still,….at the end of the day you can't do anything against the feelings you have and since they're getting more and more comfortable around each other and with the idea of having feelings for each other they give into their feeling more and more often._

_Thanks again for all the nice reviews, they really keep me going. _

_I also have a request: I was told that I was starting to get really cheesy and I honestly HATE it when people are being like that but somehow I can't help it :D (although I was aware that I was being cheesy). So do you think it's too cheesy? Yes or no?  
Me second and last request: I'm not sure if I wrote that Hermione told George about being tortured by Bellatrix yet and I don't have the time to re-read my entire story. I think you'd be more happy if I used the time I DO HAVE to continue this story instead :D so since it hasn't been as much time for you since you read it as it has been for me: DID SHE TELL HIM YET?  
(I know the topic Bellatrix came up with the sweets but I can't remember how far it went)  
Thank you so much and have fun with the story.  
~Emjezz_

* * *

**Chapter 23**

Hermione woke up to the smell of bacon in the morning. She heard the door to her bedroom open and saw George entering the room while levitating a tray in front of him. When he saw that she was already awake a smile spread over his face. "'Morning."

he said and set the tray down on the nightstand. She watched him sit down on the bed next to her carefully and kiss her temple softly.

"'Morning George!" she said and smiled up at him. "So for whom is that tray if I may ask?"

He smirked. "Well for me of course, but I guess there might just be enough for the two of us." he answered, leaned back against the back of the bed and put the tray on his lap.

Hermione smiled to herself secretly but when she sat up in order to sit back against the headboard a sharp pain shot through her arm and leg and her chest burned uncomfortably. She hissed and George turned towards her immediately. "What's wrong?" he asked and watched her closely.

"Nothing!" she answered, probably a little bit too harsh, and tried to sit up again.

"Don't give me that crap 'Mione. You're obviously in pain."

Hermione sighed. How did he always know when she was lying?

"I don't know…." she started reluctantly. "I guess I just expected the wounds to heal faster and when I just tried to sit up my arm and leg hurt pretty bad." she looked away from him. "It felt like I was cut all over again…I don't know…I guess moving so much tonight sort of made it worse again."

She looked up into his face and saw him frown. "I'm sorry 'Mione. I-" but she interrupted him by putting a finger of her non-bandaged hand over his mouth. "Don't!" she said softly. "It's not your fault, really. Besides,…" she added and smirked "…who says I didn't enjoy it?"

George chuckled. "Who are you and what have you done to Hermione Granger?" that made her blush. "Just because I'm normally shy around guys doesn't mean that I can't be different or that I don't like it." she mumbled and he laughed. He touched her chin and lifted up her head to look at her face.

"I know that 'Mione…after all you're the one who told me I was bloody gorgeous!" he said and featured the famous Weasley-twin-smirk.

"You know one day I WILL be able to get out off this bed and hunt you down for all the stuff you're getting away with right now, right?" she asked innocently, which caused him to laugh again.

"Sure tiger! So…how about we get to this breakfast before it gets cold?" he asked and offered her a piece of bacon.

While they ate in silence Hermione watched him. She knew that she was really lucky to be here with him. She could have very well died out there. Besides that she became more and more aware of how lucky she really was to have been matched with him. He was loving and caring but also funny, cheeky and intelligent. She doubted that Ron would've taken care of her like George was doing now.

She doubted that many other guys would've taken getting to know her, being there for her and making this relationship work for granted, as George seemed to.

"George?" she said and looked up at him. "Yes?" he asked and set down his cup of tea.

"Thanks!" she whispered and took his hand in hers. "For what?" he asked and ran a finger over the back of her hand absently. "For this…" she said, making a gesture between the two of them and the plate in his lap.

"For taking care of me and being so nice and…you know…for everything."

He smiled down at her. "You're welcome. And the same goes for you by the way. I'm really happy that I got matched with you 'Mione. I don't know if I told you that yet. Speaking of which…I've got something for you…hang on." he stood up and walked out off the room, taking the tray with him. He came back just a few minutes later and sat down next to her again.

"I know you normally do this differently but I didn't want to offend you and I know that you're the practical type so I thought I'd just go straight forward with this and I hope you won't be mad at me." he said and looked at her with the most serious expression she had ever seen on his face. "I was talking to mum a few days ago….about how I didn't have and engagement ring for you…" at this Hermione's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly "…she gave me this ring for you…" he said and opened his fist in order to reveal a beautiful engagement ring in it. "Before you say anything,…it was my grandmothers ring, or great-grandmothers, I honestly forgot with everything I happened…and mum said that it was always passed down to the first girl in the family and since Harry gave Ginny his mothers ring she wanted you to have it." he chuckled softly "she said you were her favourite daughter in law.".

Hermione couldn't help but stare at the ring in awe. She couldn't believe that he'd done something as nice as this. She knew many people would say that the way he had 'proposed' was a lame way. Nothing fancy or original….maybe unnormal. But that was just it. There situation wasn't normal. She couldn't say yes. She loved the fact that he knew exactly how to do this. They didn't need any extraordinary proposal because their relationship was working without stuff like that. It didn't need it.

"Please say something." Georges worried voice brought her out off her thought. He obviously thought that she was upset. She brought her hand up to his cheek, smiled and whispered "I love it". George looked as if a huge burden had just fallen off of him. "Do you want me to put in on?" he asked and she nodded. He took her hand in his and put the ring on her ring finger carefully. Hermione looked at her hand and smiled happily. "Thanks" she whispered, grabbed his shirt and pulled him down towards her.

* * *

George felt being pulled down towards her and followed her lead slightly surprised, but willingly. Seconds later he felt her soft lips on his. His lips moved in synchrony with hers as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He felt her tongue battling with his and a soft groan escaped her mouth. He smirked and began trailing kisses along her chin and towards her earlobe. He nipped at her ear and heard her gasp softly underneath him as he ran his tongue down her neck. Reaching the spot between her neck and her shoulder he began sucking and felt her wrap her good arm around his neck when-

"I feel like I'm having a deja-vu!" a voice came from the door and when George reluctantly turned away from Hermione he saw Fred and Angelina standing in the doorway, both grinning.

"See…" Fred said with a smirk and looked at his fiancée. "…you didn't have to worry about her. He IS obviously taking care of her." Angelina smacked him and Hermione buried her red face underneath her covers.

"Why is it…" asked George while glaring at his twin "…that you always have the worst timing Gred?"

Fred just shrugged. "It's a gift!"

George was about to say something but Angelina bet him to it. "Anyway. There's a reason why we're here. Hermione,…I actually wanted to change your bandages but we got a floo call from Molly a few minutes ago. She tried to call the two of you first but since you were….otherwise occupied….you obviously didn't hear her."

Hermione reappeared from underneath the covers. "What did she want?"  
Ang and Fred exchanged a quick glance which made her feel uneasy. "She said that she contacted your parents."

"She did WHAT?" Hermione shouted and tried to sit up so fast that she groaned in pain and fell back onto her bed, eyes closed. George, who had rushed over to her, glared at his brother and Angelina again. "Why did she do that? She knows that Hermione isn't on good terms with them."

"Well I think she told them about Hermione being in hospital because she was sure that Hermione didn't tell them." Fred offered. "Said something about 'a mothers right to know if her child is hurt'."

Hermione groaned. "Do you know what they said?" she asked and looked at Angelina.

"Yeah,…they were sort of hurt that you didn't contact them after you woke up and they wanted to see you so they went to the Burrow since they thought you were still living there."

Hermione groaned again. "Perfect,…just perfect."

"That's not all…" Fred said and looked at his twin. "They are coming here,…to your flat I mean. Mum's going to apparate them to the shop. They're not happy that you moved somewhere else without even telling them."

"So they don't know about me?" George asked and rubbed Hermione's arm soothingly. Fred shook his head.

"Mum just told them that you'd moved out but not why or with whom you'd moved in with. She said it wasn't hers to tell."

"Not hers to tell?" George exclaimed angrily. "But she COULD tell them that she was attacked could she!?"

"When are they coming here?" Hermione asked.

"At eleven." Angelina said and offered her an encouraging smile.

George looked at his watch. It was half past ten.

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**_Guys...I want 6 reviews (please :P) before I post the next chapter!_**


	24. Chapter 24

_There's just one thing I'd like to say before you read this: **Please don't kill me after you've read this. **I promise there's a reason why I did this. Please don't hat me_ :D

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**Chapter 24**

Hermione was nervous, simple as that. She was lying on one of the sofas in the living room, waiting for her parents arrival. She'd originally wanted to walk there herself but George had refused to let her. At first she wanted to protest but she still felt week and her wounds hurt and she was, therefore, not sure if she would have made it anyway.

When the door to their flat opened she looked at it expectantly. George walked in, followed by Fred. Behind them was Molly, followed by her parents who looked quite lost.

She saw her mother looking around and when she finally saw her on the couch she let out a small gasp and rushed towards her daughter. She pulled one of the armchairs closer towards Hermione and sat down next to her. Her father, who hadn't moved an inch, kept staring at her.

"Honey, what happened to you?" her mother asked and felt her face as if she was checking for a fever. Hermione looked from her mother to Molly, who simply shook her head, to George, who was still standing next to the door with Fred.

When he caught her looking at him he made to move towards her but she shook her slightly as to tell him to wait so stepped back next to Fred again.

"Hermione?" her mother asked again.

"Yes?"

"I asked what has happened to you." she repeated in a soft voice.

"Maybe we should better leave and wait downstairs." Molly offered but George and even Fred didn't seem to be too fond of that idea.

"No!" Hermione exclaimed and caused her mother and father to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"I mean no,…please…stay here, will you?" she asked and looked at George pleadingly. He offered her a small smile and nodded.

"Hermione!" she heard her fathers voice for the first time. "I think this is family business, isn't it?"

Hermione looked at him, taken aback.

"Dad, they already know everything. Besides, I want them to be here. They are my family as well."

At her words, she saw her fathers hands tighten into fists angrily but before he could say anything her mum spoke up. "Alright honey, if that's what you want…" she looked at her husband who sighed and moved to sit down in the armchair opposite to his wife's. Meanwhile, Fred and his mum had sat down on the other couch and George had found a small spot next to her feet.

"So….are you going to tell us what happened or not?" her father barked and Hermione saw George frown at the man next to him.

"I was attacked." Hermione offered, still lying down on the sofa.

"We know that much!" her father shot back at her. "We want to know how it happened. Who did it? How COULD you get attacked?"

Hermione sighed and started telling them the entire story. When she came to her one on four George's expression changed into fury and her mother gasped again. "How could you go there honey? If you've known that there'd be these…these…monsters?"

Hermione looked at her mother, anger building up inside of her. "They aren't monsters mum. Not all of them. They jus turn on a full moon. On any other day they are as harmless as any other wizard or witch." Fred snorted but stopped when his mother shot him a death glare.

"Besides, there were supposed to be only three of them." she added.

"Then why the hell were there so many of them? Aren't those people even able to do some decent research?" her father barked.

Hermione was shocked. Her father had always been a very nice, calm and controlled man. She'd never seen him like this before.

"Someone in the ministry must have messed it up." she said. "Normally, it's not that hard to do research like that. We don't know what exactly happened yet. They are still investigating."

"How can you be so calm about this?" he suddenly practically shouted at her.

"Look at you. You look horrible…you can't even sit up. And this isn't the first time something happened to you. Remember your first year? You were attacked by a troll and in your second you were stuck as a cat and petrified." he had jumped up from his armchair and began pacing around. "And the other stuff…. You were nearly attacked by a werewolf, were nearly killed in that so called ministry in your fifth year and don't get me started on the stuff that you did in your seventh year! Look at what you did to your own parents!"

At his last words, tears began to build up in her eyes and George jumped up from the couch, glaring at her father.

"I' sorry,…SIR…but I won't let you talk to her like that in MY flat." after a second of thinking he shook his head and spoke again. "Scratch that. I won't let you talk to her like that AT ALL."

For a moment, her father seemed to be too shocked to speak. Her mother didn't say anything either and Fred and his mother, from whom she'd expected a comment about Georges attitude, just stared at the two men standing face to face.

Then, Hermione saw her father turn a deep shade of red and his hands shook violently. "Who do you think you are?" he barked at George, who simply smirked the famous Weasley-twin-smirk . "Her fiancé!" he said in a calm and strong voice.

"Her WHAT?" her mother shrieked next to her ear and made her jump. She looked at Hermione and caught sight of the ring on her finger. "Oh my god." she simply said and her hand flew to her mouth. Her father, who looked like all air had been punched out off him, sat down again, saying nothing.

"How-I-but…I thought you were dating Ronald." her mother said, confusion written all over her face.

"No I'm not." Hermione said sternly. "I broke up with him a few weeks ago."

"But then how can you already be engaged. You must have just started dating. You can't get engaged just after a few weeks." she looked at Hermione accusingly.

"Yes you can if it's either love at first sight or an arranged marriage." Hermione mumbled the last part but, of course, her father had heard it and decided that now was the best time to start talking again. "An arranged marriage? What does this have to do with arranged marriages?" he asked and looked at George angrily.

This time, Molly explained the whole story and Hermione was glad about it. She was exausted. Even talking to her parents for such a short amount of time had apparently drained her of all the strength she'd gained since the attack.

As Molly talked, her parents faces grew more and more horrified. When she'd finished, her father looked at her sternly. "Alright Hermione! That's it! We wanted to offer you everything that was possible but this is enough! You got hurt over and over again because of these people and now they are forcing you to marry some-some stranger who doesn't even have a proper job!"

The expressions on the Weasleys faces could only be described as rage, even that of Molly, but before Hermione bet them to it. "Stop. Right now." she tried to sit up, which turned out to be quite hard since she could only use one arm. George stepped next to her immediately, helped her up carefully, sat down behind her and pulled her against his side so that she could sit up easily. When George touched her her father seemed to get even more angry but Hermione didn't care. The moment she'd felt George's hands touch her, an incredible warmth had shot through her body and she instantly calmed down and relaxed against his side.

"Dad, I love you. Both of you. But I won't let you speak about George like that. Or Fred for that matter. For one thing, the DO have a decent job. More than that. Didn't you see their shop downstairs? It's a hit. I know you think that they are just joke articles but if you, for once in your life, tried to understand the wizarding world you'd know that you need incredible talent to come up with things like that. But even if George wasn't as successful as he is I'd still marry him over anybody else because he's the kindest, funniest, smartest and most loyal guy I've ever met."

"But…" her mother started. "…you can't be serious honey. You are being FORCED into this marriage against your will. FORCED. He might be all what you said he is but you've known him for years and you never considered him. How can you so blindly do something a world that has already made you suffer so much tells you to do? It's just magic Hermione. There are so many other things in life. This isn't worth it."

Hermione looked at her mother, mouth wide open. She'd expected her to be the reasonably one after her father had turned out to be completely unreasonable. She felt the rage building up inside of her.

"NOT WORTH IT?" she finally snapped and George immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, grabbing her good hand in his.

"It's 100%ly worth it! I can't believe the two of you act like that. But then again…I shouldn't be surprised, should I? You never understood me. Mum, this is my life now. These people, the Weasleys and Harry, they are my family. They've been so for years."

"Hermione, I know you like them, but we are your real family, your father and I and we are the people you should be with. We've known you your whole life."

Hermione chuckled sarcastically. "KNOW ME?" she snorted. "You don't know me mum,…you haven't in years and if your honest you'll admit that it's true."

"Only because that damn school ruined everything. Before you got the letter everything was fine." her father barked.

Hermione looked at him sadly. "Maybe for you,…but for me it wasn't. I've always been different and that's why I never had any friends. The children at school didn't like me. Some of them were even scared of me. So they kept bullying me throwing things at me or hitting me during the breaks when no teacher was around." she said with a soft voice. While she spoke, Georges grip around her tightened almost uncomfortably and when she told them about the children at school Molly gasped and Fred looked like he felt sick. Hermione saw him looking at George behind her with a concerned look on his face but George's grip around her was so tight that she couldn't turn around.

"Why did you never tell us Hermione?" her mother asked.

"I did. I told dad." she said and her father turned white.

"I didn't believe you back then." he said and looked at his shoes. "I though you were just overreacting. That they were just some normal small fights between children." Her looked up and into her eyes. "I'm sorry about that Hermione but that doesn't change anything. It's still true that everything changed when that letter came. The moment you went to that school, we lost you. The Hermione that left in September wasn't the Hermione that came back at the end of the year. You had changed and year kept drifting away from us more and more each year. You were-"

"-Happy!" Hermione interrupted him. "I was happy. For the first time in my life I had friends. For the first time in my life I didn't feel like a freak. I know that I changed and that we drifted apart but that was only because you and mum never even tried to understand me and my world." she sighted and looked from her dad to her mum. "I'm sorry but I won't give this up. Under no circumstances, I love it to much."

"Then you'll have to give us up." her father said dryly.

Hermione thought she'd misunderstood her father but the three angry 'WHAT!?''s from the Weasleys told her that she hadn't.

She looked at her father, horrified.

"What did you say?"

"I said that, if you decide to stay in this…this 'world'…you'll have to give your mother and me up. I won't let her suffer like she did when she found out that you got attacked another time Hermione. We're constantly worried that something might happen to you and to be honest, we don't understand why you've stayed in this world so long. Like your mother said, it's not worth it. The normal world has so much to offer you. You're such a smart girl and you could achieve so much without being constantly in danger. You could choose who you're marrying." he added and looked at George. "We don't understand why you're throwing all this away without a second thought for what? For doing some magic? We can't and won't do this anymore. It's either them, or us."

he said without even blinking.

Hermione felt tears running down her cheeks while she turned towards her mother. Secretly, she hoped that her mother would jump up and shout at her father for even thinking something like that but she knew that that would never happen. Her mum was old fashioned. She'd always do what her father said.

So when she looked at her mother she wasn't surprised to see the expression on her face that proved that she really wasn't going to say anything against her husband. If she wanted or not.

Hermione looked from her mother to Fred and Molly who were staring at her parents in utter shock. "You can't be serious Mr. and Mrs. Granger." Molly finally managed. "She's your daughter. Parents are supposed to support and love their children unconditionally. She didn't even do anything bad. She just wants to be happy. How can you take that from her?"

Hermiones father looked at Molly. "I don't expect you to understand us Mrs. Weasley. I never said that we didn't love Hermione but some things are too much. And it's not like we're not giving her a choice. If she decides to stay in your world, it's her own decision."

"That's complete rubbish!" George exclaimed from behind Hermione. She'd actually been surprised that he hadn't said anything so far, but then again, he'd probably known that was something she had to do alone.

"My mother is right. How can you do this to her? Especially now!? Look at her! She nearly died just 36 hours ago and you tell her something like THIS? That's just cruel! If you'd really love her you'd stay by her side no matter what world or lifestyle she chooses. You'd try to understand her. What do you think would happen to her if she gave up her magic? She would waste away. You've said it yourself. She's incredibly smart. She's also talented and has immense magical powers and you can't just take magic away from a person like that." He'd talked himself into rage and Hermione rubbed his arm gently to calm him down.

"It's okay George. You don't have to do this." she turned to her mother and decided to give it one last try.

"Do you really agree with him?" she asked her mother in a surprisingly calm voice, considering how upset she'd been before.

Her mother nodded. "Yes I do. But please Hermione. Please come with us. I love you so much. I don't want to loose you again." Hermione sighed and just shook her head.

"I love you too mum, but it's like George said. I can't give up my powers. It would kill me."

"If that's your decision there's no need for us to stay any longer." her father said and stood up. For a moment, Hermione considered trying to convince him to change his mind but she knew that would never happen. She looked at her mother one more time, pleading her to change her mind.

"If you decide to change your mind, Hermione, you know where you can find us. Anytime." her mother said sadly and stood up as well. She leaned forwards and kissed Hermione's temple before following her husband out of the flat.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

George watched her parents leave in utter disbelieve. To say he was shocked was the understatement of the year. He looked at Hermione who was still staring at the door as if in trance. He stroke her arm gently and she snapped out of it and turned towards him. He didn't know what to say because…honestly…what do you say in a situation like this. 'Are you okay?' obviously not. Only a complete idiot would ask that. Of course she wasn't okay. But she didn't seem to expect him to say anything. She just smiled up at him weakly.

"Well…I guess I was a little bit stupid to not expect that they wouldn't take this well, wasn't I!?" she let out a soft laugh which didn't sound amused at all.

"Hermione dear, I'm sure they'll come around." mum said and smiled at Hermione reassuringly. Who was she kidding? They wouldn't come around and Hermione knew that as well as her did.

"I don't think so Molly, but thank you." she had a smile plastered on her face but he wasn't fooled. He didn't know how he'd learned how to read her this well in just about two weeks but somehow, he had. He knew that deep down inside, she was devastated. But he also knew that she wouldn't show that to anyone. Maybe not even him…yet.

He looked at his twin who was watching Hermione closely. Feeling George's eyes on him he looked up and a silent conversation went on between them before Fred nodded and stood up.  
"Mum, I think we should go now. Hermione needs some rest before tonight and Ang wanted to talk to you about tomorrow anyway."  
His mum seemed to be reluctant to leave the two of them alone but after seeing the pleading look on George's face she bid them goodbye and left the flat with Fred.

They sat in silence for a few minutes until George decided to say something. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know….what's the use? I know that they are not going to change their mind and I know that I am not going to change mine either. Like I said,….I should have expected this. We haven't been close in the last years and after they came back from Australia things only got worse. I just don't understand why I'm so surprised and shocked you know?"

she leant her head into the crook of his neck and he ran circles across her back.

"I guess it's because, although you knew how they would react, you wanted them to act differently. You know….tell you that they'd stay by your side no matter what. Just because you know that your relationship with them hasn't been the best doesn't mean that you don't love them and that you don't get hurt by them."

He felt her nod and started to play with her hair absently.

"When did you become so smart Mr Weasley?" she asked teasingly and he chuckled. "Must be your good influence."

After a few minutes of silence she spoke again. "What did Fred mean by 'she has do rest before tonight'?"

"Ah that…well it's Angelina's hen party tonight and she decided to have it here in our flat so that you'd be able to join them."

"But wouldn't they rather like to go out clubbing or something?" she asked with a frown. "They don't have to do this just because of me."

He sighed. "Of course they don't. But Angelina wants them to. She said that it wouldn't be the same without you and that she couldn't leave you alone anyway."

He felt her pull away from his neck and look at him confused. "Why? Where are you going?" she asked and he couldn't help but grin. "Why? You're not going to miss me, are you?"

He saw her blush furiously. "Of course not. I was just wondering where you were going that's all. You don't have to tell me."

"'Mione…." he started patiently. "What's tonight?"

"Angelina's hen party." she answered, confused.

"And what else is there on the night before a wedding?"

Realization dawned in her eyes. "A stag party."

"Exactly. You see as a twin it's my job to give Fred the best evening in the history of stag parties." he smiled wickedly.

"What….ehm….what do you do on stag parties in the wizarding world?" she asked innocently, playing with a lock of her hair.

"Oh you know… just the normal stuff….getting drunk…strippers…orgies. That stuff." he said in a serious tone.

He saw her eyes wide and her mouth drop. "That….what….but…I thought…" she didn't seem to be able to form a coherent sentence.

"I thought the wizarding world was so old fashioned about everything." He nodded. "That's why the groom has to use his last chance of freedom before he can never do that again."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well you know when two people are getting married in the wizarding world they get bonded to each other and one of the things that includes is that they cannot cheat on each other."

She looked at him in utter disbelieve. "Are you serious?"

He thought about pulling her leg a little bit longer but in the end decided against it. She looked just too shocked.

"Partly." he finally said. "I was lying about the stripper part and stuff. Of course there ARE wizards who do that, but we won't."

She seemed relieved. "And the second part?"

"The cheating part?"

She nodded.

"That part was right. Bonded witches and wizards can't cheat on each other. That's why there are never any devorces in our world. Once you're bonded you're bonded for a lifetime. And you know that's much longer than it would be for muggles."

"But how does that work?" she asked. "I mean how can you not cheat?"

He laughed. "Why? Are you planning on cheating on me 'Mione?"

She frowned. "Of course not."

He chuckled and winked at her. "Just making sure. But back to your question. If you're married and you cheat on your partner it physically hurts you. It starts from kissing another person – not as a friendly kiss on the cheek mind you – to actually having sex. The pain obviously depends on what you're doing. It gets more and more painful the further you go and if you actually have sex with someone else…." he paused and looked at her reluctantly.

"What?"

"You die."

He saw Hermione's eyes widen in shock. "You die?"

He simply nodded.

"But what if…I don't know…what if someone forces himself upon you?"

He frowned. He'd known she'd ask that. He'd always been concerned about that part as well. Ever since he'd first heard about it years ago.

"I know this is sort of barbaric Hermione, and I don't say I like it – not at all – but you have to understand where this is coming from. Many of the wizarding laws are hundreds and hundreds of years old. And back then women didn't have the same position as men. They thought that men could defend themselves against anything that they would make sure that no harm was done to their wives. They practically never got out of their houses anyway."

"But that's different today." she exclaimed angrily.

"I know." he sighed. "But the majority of the people who can change these laws are old pureblood wizards Hermione. We might have won the war and Voldemort and most of the Death Eaters might be gone but that doesn't mean that there aren't any other problems or dangers out there. The world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters 'Mione. Look at Umbitch. She was never a Death Eater and you experienced first hand what she was capable of."

He saw her nod reluctantly. "I know. It just seems so unfair. I know it was kind of stupid but I sort of hoped that these things would be over once the war was over."

"I know,…me too. And they will change 'Mione. Not the fact that there will always be evil people out there-of course not. But the Ministry will change. It will just take time."

He saw her look at him with a weird expression on her face. It looked like…awe? No. Surely not.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't know you were this smart." she said and smiled at him.

He pressed his hand against his heart and gasped in mock hurt. "You wound me 'Mione. So you telling your parents that I was incredibly smart was just a joke eh?"

Hermione shook her head. "Of course not. I meant what I said. EVERY word I said." she whispered and looked into his eyes. "Did YOU mean what you said?"

He simply nodded and stared back into her eyes, unable to tear his eyes from them. How had he never realized how beautiful and deep they were? "EVERY word." he said and bend down to kiss her. He caught her lips in a passionate kiss. He gently made her lie down on the couch and hovered over her body, careful not to hurt her bruised and bandaged body. He moaned when her tongue ran along his lower lip teasingly and he heard her chuckle happily. He moved away from her lips and started pressing soft kisses on her face. Her eyelids, her cheeks, her nose,… he couldn't help but grin when he heard her moan when he started nibbling at the corner of her mouth. Her felt her uninjured hand run underneath his t-shirt and up his back which caused him to shiver in pleasure. But when she started trying to pull his shirt over his head he stopped and draw back from her.

"What's wrong?" she asked and looked up at him, breathing heavily. "Don't you want to…" she trailed off and looked at the ceiling, obviously embarrassed.

He brushed a lock behind her ear and smiled down at her. "Of course I do. But not when you're not fully healed 'Mione." She frowned at him.

"I can't do bloody anything." she exclaimed. "All I can do is lie down all the time. It's getting bloody frustrating and I bloody hell have enough of it."

George grinned. "Bloody hell? 'Mione I think I'm being a bad influence on you." she rolled her eyes at him.

"But seriously…I know you're frustrated but the more you rest the sooner you can run around and drive people crazy again." he chuckled at the glare she shot towards him.

"What about tomorrow? If you think I'm just going to stay here alone while Fred and Angelina are getting married…"

"I don't!" he interrupted her. "I actually talked to the healers about it and they said that as long as you rest until tomorrow and as long as you stay seated there most of the time you'll be okay. But you'll still be in some pain." he said reluctantly. "And they said you should expect to be exausted at the end of the day."


	26. Chapter 26

_Okay guys, thank you so much for your feedback and I am really glad that you didn't kill me after the last chapter but ... SIRIUSLY? … WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? :D :D :D  
You LIKED the way Hermione's parents acted? Okay… I mean I like it too but because it's important for the story :D so…I'll just hope that you have the same reason…siriusly… .xD_

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**Chapter 26**

The next morning, Hermione was feeling much better. At least physically. She tried not to think about everything that had happened on the day before but it was hard. She knew that the day would have come sooner or later but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt like hell. But she wasn't Hermione Granger for nothing and she knew that lying in bed and sulking wouldn't change anything. She'd made her decision, now she was going to live with it. She slowly sat up in bed. She didn't feel the pain she had felt the last time she'd tried to sit up on her own which was good sign. She slowly stood up and tested her leg. It didn't hurt either. She made a few steps and winced. Now her chest and her arm were a complete other story. But she wasn't going to stay in bed for the next days or probably weeks. She'd made it through a freaking war for goodness sake. She would not start being the weak one now.

When she slowly made her way into the kitchen she saw George standing in front of the oven. When he heard her he turned around to see who it was and she immediately saw him frown.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?" he asked and took a step towards her.

She looked up at him with a self-confident look on her face.

"Joining you for breakfast of course." she said and gave him a peck on the cheek. He frowned.

"You were supposed to stay in bed."

She shook her head. "No I wasn't. The mediwitch said I could get out of bed today if I felt better and I DO feel better." He looked at her sceptically and she stared into his eyes.

Finally, he sighed. "'Mione you know I just don't want you to get hurt. And I know you can't be completely healed yet."

She took his hand in hers and smiled.

"I never said I was completely healed George. My chest is still hurting and my arm is giving me hell but all in all I DO feel better. My leg doesn't hurt anymore at all so what's wrong with moving a little bit? What would you do if you had to stay in bed all day?"

"Depends on whether I have company or not."

She smacked him playfully and he chuckled.

"Okay okay…I'd probably go mental."

"Probably?"

"Most certainly." He caressed her cheek with his other hand and looked down at her. "Just promise me not to run around all the time okay? The doctor DID say that you should stay seated at all times possible."

She nodded and moved towards the kitchen table to sit down.

George put two plates with eggs and bacon onto the table and sat down next to her. After a few bites, George started talking again.

"So…how was last night?"

"Good. It was quite funny actually. Angelina wanted to play truth or dare." she grinned at him.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really."

He smirked. "What happened?"

"You want the top three?"

He nodded.

"Well 3rd place would be when Katie kept saying what she thought which lead to her saying that she thought Annabel was quite hot."

"What?"

"Yeah…you should've seen Annabel. A cherry couldn't be redder." she laughed.

"What was the second?"

"Luna took one of those where you turn into the first person you had a crush on."

"Whom did she turn in to?"

She chuckled. "You wouldn't believe it."

"Who?"

"Lee."

His eyes widened. "LEE? As in Lee Jordan?"

She nodded. "Yeah…apparently she had quite a crush on him for years. That's why she took up the commentator job once he left school."

"Oh god. I don't think I would have ever seen that one coming. Hang on… if that's number two… what's number one?"

She bit her lip. "Okay, but you have to promise that you won't tell anyone. And I MEAN anyone."

"Okay."

"Not even Fred."

He hesitated. Then, finally, he nodded.

"Well Ginny and Angelina shared a sweet. And…well…they kissed."

George, who'd just taken a sip of tea started to cough violently.

"They did WHAT?" he asked with wide eyes.

"They kissed."

"Sweet Merlin." he grinned. "It's a shame I promised I wouldn't tell anyone." Then the characteristic Weasley-twin-smirk appeared on his face and Hermione's eyes widened.

"Oh no George. Whatever you're thinking….not going to happen."

He looked at her with puppy eyes and pouted.

"Pleeeaaase?"

She sighed. 'If it's this easy for him to change my mind this marriage is going to work just brilliant.' she thought but could keep herself from smiling.

"What do you want to do?"

She saw him grin. "Nothing bad. I'm not going to DIRECTLY say something, but I thought…maybe a few hints in the right moments…like today…"

"But today's their wedding."

"Exactly." his smirk was now so big that she couldn't help but laugh. He looked like a little boy who'd been told that his birthday and Christmas had been put onto one day,…today."

"Alright…" she said reluctantly.

"Brilliant." he leant forward and kissed her cheek.

Minutes later, Fred stumbled out off George's room.

"You didn't tell me we had a visitor."

George chuckled. "Yeah…he was actually supposed to stay at his flat since Angelina went home with Alicia, but he was so drunk that I couldn't convince him to stay up there alone. He's a little clingy when he's drunk you know."

"Am not!" Fred mumbled and slumped down on a free chair. "'Morning 'Mione" he said and smiled at her sleepily. "Had a good evening?"

Hermione couldn't help but burst into laughter. 'If only he knew….well…with George he might know soon."

Fred looked from her to his brother, who apparently had a hard time not to join her, confused. "What's wrong with her?"

"Ehm…she…let's just say she had a lot of fun last night."

Fred looked at Hermione and frowned.

"What did you doooo?"

"IIIII didn't do anything." she said, stressing the –I- unintentionally.

George immediately started chuckling which earned him a smack from Hermione.

Fred kept staring from his twin to Hermione. "What's she on about?" he asked George.

"Nothing." he replied in an innocent tone that couldn't fool anyone, especially not his partner in crime.

"Georgiiiieee! Talk to me! There's something up! I know it!"

George only chuckled again.

"Seriously?" Fred asked and seemed to be unable to decide if he should be angry or amused. He decided to go with the later. "This is how it's going to be from now on eh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you're teaming up on me with her." he said and nodded towards Hermione who watched the brothers while leaning back in her chair.

"Jealous much?" George asked and smirked.

"Maybe…." Fred replied and winked at Hermione. "I mean one minute everything is fine and suddenly you're fal-" but Hermione would never find out what George suddenly did because at that moment a huge barn owl flew through the open window and dropped the Daily Prophet on the table.

Hermione instinctively grabbed it and looked at the front page. Her face switched from green to white in seconds.

* * *

Guys…another thing. I've started this second story it's called "There are no winners in war"….I've heard some complaints that people think I won't write this story anymore or hardly or stuff like that. That's not true. This one's always going to be my first born, so to speak :D and it's always going to be my priority (in stories) but those of you who write know that sometimes, you want to write something but you just have to get your head out off the story for a while and write and think about something else. Also…there are hardly any stories about Charlie and I wanted a story where my fav. Sirius wasn't dead (Siriusly, how could she kill him?) and I had some ideas which couldn't go into this story soooooo…..what my rambling is supposed to say is…if you're waiting for the next chapter of "Expect the unexpected"…why don't you try "There are no winners in war" ? Thank you  
Emjezz-as always reviiiiiieeeewwww


	27. Chapter 27

_**CocoRocks: **I know you hat my cliffhangers...and you should know by now that I loooooove them because you guys hate them so much :D I actually wanted to write another Chapter of NwiW after posting chapter 26 but, thanks to your comment, I'll show you guys that I actually DO have a heart...I'll write one for EtU first ;)  
(Also because I waaaaaaaaant you to know what's in the Prophet…don't be fooled, I'm still totally selfish :P)_

* * *

**Chapter 27**

_Her face switched from green to white in seconds._

* * *

George watched as his fiancée's face turned an unhealthy shade of white and he saw the Prophet shake in her hands. He quickly jiggled his chair close to hers and put a hand on her arm.

"What's wrong love?" he asked but she just kept staring at the newspaper so he followed her view and gasped.

He couldn't believe it.

"What's going on Georgie?" Fred's worried voice came from the other side of the table.

Hermione finally seemed to recover. She looked from George to Fred and back to the Prophet and started to read it out loud.

_**Warning!**_

_At 5am reliable sources have informed us that there has been a breakout from Azkaban in the early hours of this morning. _

_It is unknown how it was possible that three 'residents' from the maximum security part of the prison could escape without being seen but it seems unlikely that they escaped without help from inside. As mentioned above, the three prisoners were held in the maximum security part of the prison due to the horrors they caused in the past, more precisely, the first and second wizarding war. We've been able to get confirmed, by none other than the minister's secretary, Percy Weasley, that the fugitives are none other than Rodolphus Lestrange, his brother Rabastan Lestrange and werewolf Fenrir Greyback. _

_The Ministry of Magic asks the wizarding community to remain calm and cautious at all times._

_All wizards are extremely dangerous and are not to be confronted if avoidable.  
Should you have any information on the whereabouts of any of the former mentioned, please contact the Auror Department immediately…_

_(for further information on said Death Eaters, see page 10)_

"Shit!" George looked up at his twin and couldn't agree more.

He nodded. "This really isn't a good week. No ofense…."

Fred shook his head. "None taken Forge."

George looked at Hermione beside him, who was again staring at the newspaper in front of him.

He put his arm around her shoulder and puller her against his chest.

"You're alright love?"

She nodded and murmured a small "sure!". He frowned at Fred who looked confused as well.

"Don't lie 'Mione…we know a good liar when we see him or her,…and you're not one of them." Fred said and looked at her.

"It's…it's nothing. Really…" she started, leant further into George and took his free hand into hers.

"It's just…I mean I know all of them being out is horrible, but…for me…Greyback…" she sighed. "I guess with him it's different for me than with the others."

"Why's that?" George asked and gently stroke her hand.

"Ehm…I…."

"Do you want me to go upstairs?" Fred offered, although it was obvious to George that he'd rather stay with them.

Hermione shook her head. "No…it's okay…you can stay. It's just hard talking about the war."

"You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to." George said.

"No…I want to...it's…did Ron ever tell you anything about what happened when we were on the hunt? Or maybe Harry?"

They both shook their heads. "Nope… didn't want to talk about it."

"Well we were always camping on the countryside. In woods or fields or cliffs or stuff like that. And I always put up defences around the tent. It kept away everyone. Muggle or Death Eater…it didn't matter, they couldn't find us."

George watched her tell them their story and the second she started talking, he saw all emotion disappear out off her face, just as if she didn't want to fully face what she knew was coming.

"Then one evening, I think it was in march, we were listening to Potterwatch." A grin appeared on her face at that word and she beamed at Fred and George. "You guys were brilliant by the way."

George smiled back at her, glad that their work with Potterwatch had done some good to the trio.

"Anyway…" she started and her face went blank again "we started talking afterwards…about how brilliant all of you were,…risking your lives…it was the best time we were in in weeks. But…" she smiled sadly "…I guess we should've known that that was too good to be true."

"What happened?" Fred, who hang at her lips, asked.

"Harry said Voldemorts name."

Both twins swore.

"Tell me you could escape!" George said and, subconsciously, pressed her against him tighter.

She shook her head. "No we didn't."

For a few minutes, nobody said a word.

Finally, George spoke up.

"What happened then?"

Hermione sighed. "Well…I sent a stinging curse at Harry so that they couldn't recognize him…that was all I could manage before the snatchers arrived." she swallowed deeply before continuing.

"They made us go out of the tent and … one of them was Greyback." she swallowed again and shivered slightly so George pressed her against him tighter than ever before. Part of him wondered why she wasn't complaining about being smashed, especially because of her injuries, but she didn't seem to care….quite the opposite actually.

"Long story short, they bound us and brought us to Malfoy Manor." her words took up speed when she the last two words. "In the end we, obviously, managed to escape. Dobby rescued us and died because of it." she finished and snuggled her head into the crook of Georges neck whilst staring into the room absently.

George exchanged a quick look with Fred who seemed angry, but also confused.

"Love?" George asked and caused Hermione to look up at him.

"Yeah?"

"What happened in between going to the Manor and escaping?" he looked into her eyes, saw tears building up and changed his mind.

"No…I take that question back. You don't have to tell us."

She looked confused, still tears in her eyes. "But I have to tell you George. We agreed that we needed to tell each other everything….so that this would work. We said that we needed to talk about everything." she said and sounded heartbreakingly. George stroke an escaping tear off her cheek, completely forgetting Fred's presence. "I know we did. And we'll do exactly that. But I don't want you to tell me about this until you're ready. Okay?"

She looked like she was about to argue but before she could say anything, George quickly caught her lips in a deep kiss. He tried to put everything that he still wasn't able to tell her into that kiss. That he understood her…that he'd always be there for her…and…that he had (as crazy as it still seemed to be) fallen in love with her.

What surprised him was that Hermione responded to his kiss with as much passion as she had two nights ago. He felt her press her entire body into his and her good hand grabbed his neck as their tongues battled each others.

His left hand was in her hair while his right hands softly ran down her side and under the hem of her shirt-

"Ehemm…you guys DO realize that I'm still sitting right next to you!?" Fred's amused voice came from beside them and Hermione jumped away from George whilst blushing furiously.

"God Fred!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

Fred just shrugged. "Wanted to see when you'd remember I was still around. But when Georgie's hand started to go under your shirt I thought 'Well Freddie,…might want to stop them now…there's only one naked woman you should see on your wedding day." George threw the rest of his toast at him. "Git! We would have stopped before we'd gotten too far."

Hermione nodded violently.

But Fred only sneered. "Yeah I've seen what the two of you do when you think you're alone on more than one occasion and trust me…stopping is not one of the things you'd do." He looked at Hermione and smirked. "BOTH of you."

Hermione blushed furiously and George glared at his twin whilst trying hard not to grin smugly. Fred didn't seem to be fooled.

"Anyway…how do you recon they broke out?" he asked in order to change the subject.

Freds face changed into a frown.

"Well it's a bit weird don't you think?"

George nodded.

"Yeah…I thought so too. With the…"

Fred nodded.

"Yeah."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked. "What's weird?"

"Well don't you think the fact that two of the highest Death Eaters and the worst werewolf in the history of werewolves escaped a few days after you were attacked by a pack of werewolves is a little bit…..like I said….weird?"

Her eyes widened. "Yes…that can't be a coincident. Over a year of practically nothing and then two things in the same week? I don't think so. I mean the attack wasn't as bad as the escape is…" George looked as if it indeed was at least equally bad "…but the thing was fishy from the beginning…." she seemed to be lost in thought. "Do you think there's a reason why they'd want to get out?" she asked.

"What? Besides actually being out of this hell hole?" Fred asked and she nodded. "Yeah."

"I don't know." George threw in. "Wouldn't be them if they didn't try something. You know…all bad things aside you can't say that the Lestranges are stupid. Evil, yes but stupid? I don't think so."

Hermione nodded. "Yes. That's the bad thing. If they were stupid…I know they would still be evil and do bad things but it would have it's … sort of limits I think. But if you are evil AND intelligent….that's worse. Look at Tom. He would have never been that dangerous if he had not been that smart. He wouldn't have managed to get away with so much and he wouldn't have been able to come up with the stuff he did to begin with."

Fred and George didn't seem to disagree. "How about we talk to Harry, dad and Kingsley about this today…after the wedding." Fred said and the other two nodded.

"Well…!" Hermione said, clapped her hands and stood up carefully. "We're not going to let them get us down. Especially not today. This is a day that should be celebrated. Get up guys…it's late and you're mum will strangle both of you if we get to the Burrow too late. So get up and get ready while I clean this mess up…I'll change with the other bridesmaids at the Burrow."

With that, they all got up to get ready.

Nobody had a clue, that they would never celebrate that day again.

* * *

**Dadadadaaaaaaaam ... damn I never wanted to be one of these cheesy writers ... hope this is not my subconsciousness come out :D anyway hope you like it and the cliffy is annoying the hell out offfff you again :D I, for my part, espacially liked this one :D soooo as always I'll wait for at least six review but since it's my day off I'll jump right to chapter 28 ;) Have a nice rest of the weekend Emjezz  
**

**Samagus: **Thank you for answering my question...nobody else had answered it before you did! Thanks... ~Emjezz xD


	28. Chapter 28

****_**Ladies and gentlemen...I have got bad news for you: CocoRocks saw straight through me. I have indeed planned to kill all the characters at Fred's and Angelina's wedding. That said, I hope you liked my story...I'm just a little bit sad that the death of all the characters couldn't be a surprise to you anymore. I just don't feel like writing it anymore since my masterplan has been figured out. I hope you'll find a lot of other stories that aren't as predictable as mine...Emjezz  
**__  
_

_****_Yeah, right...like I would do that :D (No offense **CocoRocks**, I really had a laugh about your comment; in a good - non mean way) so OBVIOUSLY I'm not going to kill all of them now...what kind of story would that be?  
I'd like to answer those of you're questions I CAN sooooo:  
**Mioniexx: **I know everyone hates my Cliffhangers or any cliffhangers for that matter but think about it...it DOES make the whole thing more exciting. Aaand I'm having way too much fun writing them (quite disturbing actually :D) but I'll TRY not to be as mean :D  
**93 Diagon Alley: **That just screamed "Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?" didn't it? :D  
**weecazza89: ***hehe* well you never know,...do you? But I'll promise you I'm not one of these people who write a fanfiction about character A and B, just to kill character A or B so that I'll have to handle the left character whining, crying and mourning all the time ;)  
**PJHPFGfan: **Although I feel weird saying this: I'm glad you do! Thanks ;) (Oh and I'll do my best!"  
**CocoRocks: **Well you already got yours...hope you don't think I was too mean up there...I didn't mean it that way at all I just like having fun and ... well I couldn't stop laughing when I first read your comment! Thanks for reviewing so much btw.  
**Redheadedbookworm77: **I'M always one step ahead of you! :P  
**Jammiedodger15: **No she's just going to keep one of the worst events of her life from her husband forever. :D  
**FireyHeart33: **But what if what I write will make you cry?  
** 95: **One person can only leave one comment per chapter...tried that once as well and failed. :( Nice idea though ;)

* * *

**Chapter 28**

„I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe these bloody idiots let them escape!" Harry's voice rang through the Burrow's kitchen. He looked at Kingsley, who was leaning against the counter, accusingly. "I thought you said Azkaban was secure."

Kingsley visibly felt uncomfortable. "I know Harry and that's honestly what I thought."

"It's not Kingsleys fault, Harry." Arthurs calm voice came from the table where the others were sitting.

Harry sighed. "I know. I'm sorry Kingsley. I'm just wondering…don't you think we should have expected something like this to happen? I meant after what happened to 'Mione." He looked at her, sitting next to George and smiled sadly. "I mean we all thought that there was something off but why didn't we even consider that something else would happen? I'll tell you why. We let our guard down. That's why. We thought that with all of the big fishes gone or in Azkaban nothing too bad would happen. Well we all know now where THAT brought us." He through himself into an empty chair, breathing heavily.

"He's right, you know!?" Bill said and everyone nodded.

"We were speaking about this early today…" Fred said "…and we were wondering if there was a reason for breaking out besides actually BEING outside of Azkaban." George nodded. "Yeah we thought considering who they are that that would be very likely."

Harry looked up at him. "Yeah that's what I've been thinking about ever since I heard that they escaped too. It seems unlikely that they would just hide somewhere without trying anything."

"But what would they want to do?" Molly's angry and yet scared voice came from the sink.

She looked from Kingsley, to her oldest son and then, finally, to her husband who just shook his head absently.

"I don't think we can say that for sure. There are too many possibilities. The most likely is obviously Harry." he looked at Kingsley who nodded. "We will have to work on extra security for next weeks wedding." Then he looked around the room. "And I'm afraid I'll have to call an order meeting for tomorrow. Fred, you and Angelina obviously don't have to be there but as for the others…." he didn't need to say anything else. Hermione couldn't believe it. Here they were, planning an order meeting and taking precautions because of possible Death Eater attacks. She'd honestly thought that that part of her was over.

And Greyback…why did Greyback have to escape? Why nobody else? She was now more relieved that Bellatrix was dead than ever before. If she'd have to face that bitch again…no…but Greyback was bad enough. She was glad that George had told her not to tell them about everything that had happened at the Manor. She honestly wanted to tell him, but a small part of her was scared to. Nobody except for those who'd been in the room knew everything that had happened. Even Harry didn't. How could George still like her with everything that had happened there? SHE didn't like herself anymore…so why should somebody else? She could still feel the disgusting, sweaty hands grip-

"Hermione dear?" Molly's words snapped her out off her thought and she found everyone in the kitchen staring at her. She saw Harry and George look at her with worried expressions on their faces. She'd obviously missed something.

"Yes?" she asked and tried to mask the fear and disgust she'd only felt seconds before.

"I was just telling you and Ginny that it was time for you to get upstairs." How long had she been out of it? "Angelina and the others will arrive in a few minutes."

She nodded absently and stared at the table in front of her. What would she do if George didn't want her after telling him? Only two weeks ago it wouldn't have really mattered. She would have been hurt, yes….but now!? She could just not tell him…but that was wrong. She knew he'd have to know eventually. She felt a hand on her arm and jumped in surprise. Again, everyone was staring at her but now each and everyone wore the same worried expression Harry had before and George wore an expression of both, worry and hurt on his face. She realized that the hand that had tried to comfort her had been his.

"'Mione are you okay?" Ginny asked. Of course she wasn't. "Of course I am." she said and forced a smile on her face. "I was just lost in thoughts." she laughed and hoped that nobody besides her heard how empty it sounded. "So…" she stood up "shall we go upstairs?" she asked Ginny and started to walk towards the kitchen door. But George beat her to it. "You go ahead Gin. 'Mione will be up there with you in a few minutes. I just have to talk to her for a second." Before anyone could argue he grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her out off the kitchen, up the stairs and into his former room. He closed the door behind them and looked at her. "Spill it."

"What do you-" she started but he didn't let her finish.

"Don't even try it 'Mione! I know you were lying down there. Like Freddie said, you're a terrible liar. So tell me what's wrong." When she didn't say anything his features softened.

"Please love? I'm really worried about you. You looked like you were tortured down there. Please just tell me what's bothering you…" he took one step towards her and cupped her face in his hands, gently. "Is this about what we talked about this morning? Or rather didn't talk?" she nodded and looked down at her feet.

"I-I really want to tell you everything George. I know you said you didn't want me to before I was ready but the thing is….I think it will take years for me to be ready for this. I'll never be comfortable talking about everything that happened because nobody besides me and the Death Eater KNOW everything that happened at the Manor."

She looked up at him and saw him frown. "Why don't Harry and Ron know?"

"Because they were kept in the dungeons."

"And you weren't?" he asked carefully.

"No I wasn't." she just said and looked into his eyes sadly.

He crossed the last centimetres between them and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head in the already familiar crook of his neck and sighed. "I don't want to ruin this day anymore than it already is George."

She felt him stroke over her hair whilst answering in a soothing tone.

"I know and we're not going to let them ruin it. Just….I don't know….I want you to know that I'm here for you okay? Always. You can tell me everything you know that, right?" She felt tears escaping her eyes and running down her cheeks. George must have felt them against his neck too because he spoke again. "Why are you crying love?" a small sob escaped her and her good hand grabbed at George's shirt. "I'm scared." she admitted.

"Of what?"

"That you'll hate me…" she said barely audible.

"I'd never hate you love. Never." he reassured her.

"You can't know that. You don't even know what happened."

She heard him chuckle softly, but it didn't sound like he was amused at all.

"I think I can put one and one together love." he ran his hand in soothing circles over her back. "Despite what many people might think…Fred and I aren't stupid at all. We just don't show it as openly as for example you do. I'm afraid I can imagine quite well what happened at the Manor,…even if I don't want to."

At his words the mask that she'd tried to keep up since they had gotten the Prophet broke and she started shaking and crying violently.

She felt him pick her up and carry her towards one of the twin beds. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap and into his arms again. He gently rubbed her arms and back while she kept crying into his chest. She didn't notice the door opening and Harry and Fred standing in the doorway with equally worried expressions on their faces. And she didn't notice George shaking his head at them and silently telling them to leave them alone.

After what seemed like ages she finally stopped crying, probably because she didn't have any tears left, and calmed down slightly.

George cupped her face in his hands again and made her look up at him. "Like I said. I'm never going to hate you. Never. No matter what's going to happen."

She still wasn't convinced. How could he know that? How could he be so sure? She voiced her thoughts and he smiled at her.

"Well I actually didn't plan on telling you this under these circumstances." he chuckled. "But there's a very good reason why I KNOW that I'm never going to hat you. I've actually known for a while but I was too scared to tell you."

She looked confused. "Why were you scared?"

"Because I don't know how you'll react." he admitted, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Tell me, please." she simply said and looked at him expectantly.

She saw him take a deep breath.

"I know that I'll never hate you because I'm in love with you 'Mione….I love you."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "I know what you're going to think…" he started rambling when she didn't say anything. "…we've just started 'dating', if you can even call it that, two weeks ago, but I know…Oh Merlin this is going to sound so cheesy…I know that I've never been so sure about anything in my life 'Mione. I didn't want to admit it at first because I thought it was crazy, not because I DID fall in love with YOU but because it happened so fast you know…." he finished lamely and looked at anything in the room but her, obviously feeling scared and miserable.

Hermione's mood on the other hand couldn't have changed more drastically. She was on cloud nine. (damn you cheesiness)

She couldn't believe that he really loved her. HER…Hermione bookworm Granger.

"You really mean this, don't you?" she asked carefully and he finally looked down at her again. "Yeah…I really do."

She beamed at him. "Well that's quite fortunate Mr Weasley." she teased him. "And why would that be? Miss Granger?" he asked, playing along although he didn't seem to completely understand what she was up to.

"Well you see…" she said and ran a finger along his upper lip "…wouldn't it be…hmmm unhandy…if I loved someone who didn't love me?"

"Yeah I guess that would be-" he stopped and looked at her shell shocked. "Wait, does that mean what I think it means?" he asked.

"Well that depends on what you're thinking, doesn't it Mr Weasley?" she asked teasingly and before he could say anything she pressed her lips against his.

* * *

Just to get you excited...I DO have the next one written and I'll just say Wonwon is back *hehe* oh how I hate him... 6 as always


	29. Chapter 29

******I apologize for not posting this chapter earlier, but I didn't have ANY time for it at all. :) Since I know that you've all been awaiting this patiently, I won't continue boring you with N/A's ... hope you'll like it.**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

„What are you so bloody happy about?" he heard Fred beside him.

He turned towards his twin and grinned. "Why I'm just happy that my favourite brother has finally married the love of his life." Fred chuckled.

"Nice try…although I know you're happy for us,…this" he motioned towards George's face "isn't about us." he seemed to think about it whilst watching George closely.

Suddenly, a grin formed on his face.

"What did my future sister in law do?"

"What does this have to do with Audrey?" George asked, hiding a smirk.

Fred smacked George on the head. "Idiot! I meant your fiancée of course."

"What makes you think this has anything to do with her?" George asked.

Fred smiled at him. "There's only one person that's ever managed to get that kind of smile on your face and that's 'Mione."

"Alright…you're right."

They walked towards the bar, took two drinks with them and sat down on a bank at the edge of the dance floor.

After a few seconds of silence George finally spoke up. "I told her I love her."

Fred coughed violently. "You didn't."

George nodded. "I sure did."

"Why?" Fred asked and George frowned at him.

"Don't get me wrong I'm happy you did it but I thought you didn't want to yet."

"I didn't…but…well you saw her crying and one thing lead to another and well… she started crying because she thought I'd hate her if I found out what happened at the Manor."

"But that's complete rubbish." Fred said and George nodded.

"I know…so I told her I was convinced that I'd NEVER hate her. She said that I couldn't be sure about that because I didn't know what happened. Then I said that I was very well capable of imagining what happened and when she wanted to know how I could be so sure that I'd never hate her I told her."

"Do you really think you realize everything that could have happened?" Fred asked carefully.

"Yeah I am."

"Everything-everything?"

The look on George's face must have convinced him that he really could imagine all possibilities.

"Did she believe you?" Fred finally asked again and George practically beamed at him.

"She said she loved me too."

Fred beamed right back at him. "Really?…hmm…that's surprising."

"Excuuuse me?" George said. "What do you mean with 'that's surprising'!?"

"Well…" Fred said and looked at George as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's a bit weird, don't you think? How can she fall in love with a dumbhead like you if I'm here right next to you?"

George immediately shove his twin of the bench. "Git. Maybe she decided that she wanted to be with the smarter and more handsome twin."

Before Fred could reply anything a shadow fell onto them and they looked up to see Hermione and Angelina standing in front of them.

"What are the two of you up to again?" Hermione asked, looking at the two of them suspiciously.

"Yeah…why is my husband sitting on the ground?" Angelina added.

"Nothing!" both said together and George helped his twin up.

"We just came here to tell you that it's time for the speeches." Angelina told them.

George caught the look on Hermione's face at Angelina's words and chuckled. That will be fun…

They walked over the lawn and towards the tables next to the Burrow. George sat down between Fred and Hermione at the family table and took her hand. When it was his turn to speak he winked at Hermione and stood up.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen… For those of you who are unfortunate enough not to know me, my name is George Weasley, I'm the smarter and obviously more handsome version of our groom." At this, he smirked at Fred who just chuckled.

"For those of you that DO know me…well I apologize. Stupid as he is, Freddie here has asked me to be his best man. Don't know what he thought to be honest. I'm just really happy to be able to be at the wedding of Angelina and Freddie here. I would like to thank the bridesmaids in Freddie's name for I've been informed that they did their best to give the bride everything they wanted. Especially my little sister Gin over her who didn't hesitate to give our new sister in law eve-ry-thing she could think of." At his reference to their kiss Ginny, who'd just taken a sip from her cup, started coughing violently and Angelina blushed furiously. George just winked at both of them and continued.

"Right now I would like to ask both, Freddie and Angelina to help me with my speech. Ang, please place your left hand on the table. Freddie, place your right hand on top of Angelina's. I would like you to keep your hands like this until the end of my speech and, Freddie trust me, you'll regret it if you don't.

Instead of telling you a bunch of stories that would go on forever, you'll have to listen to the marital advice I have for my twin and his now doomed bride. I'm one hundred percent sure that I'm NOT the best person to dish out advice, but that never stopped me before so here are some words of wisdom for the couple.

Freddie…Married life can be compared to Quidditch…therefore…be fully committed every week and make sure you score every Saturday. We all know Ginny can give you some tips if you should need them."

His words were followed by booming laughter of, mostly, Georges brothers and their friends. George could see his mother burry her head in her husbands chest. Ginny and Harry, again, were red as a tomato and Fred just grinned at his twin.

"Also Freddie,…if you buy her flowers don't forget…she'll know you're feeling guilty and she'll remember the last time you bought her some AND the reason why. So don't buy her any flowers!

Lastly,… there are four words you must never forget and repeat over and over again: 'You're right love!'" He turned towards Angelina and started talking again.

"Ang, for you I've got five key tips to a successful marriage:

A man who will treat you right and always stand by your side.

A man who will shower you in gifts and compliments.

A man who will comfort you in times of trouble.

A man who will please you and grant your every request.

And last but not least the most important one…..make sure that each of these man doesn't meet Freddie.

But really Freddie… you're one lucky man. She's beautiful, smart, funny, loving and caring. She really deserves a great husband. Too bad she had to marry you before she could find one."

He took a few seconds to let the laughter die down before he spoke again.

"Have you still got your hands together?…good. I talked to both of you before the wedding and asked you what you were looking for in Marriage. Freddie here said stuff like Love, Happiness, a family and all that. When I asked Ang the same question she said she was in it for all the wedding gifts.

The last and probably most important task of a best man is knowing when enough is enough and I think that that time is now as I look down at my gorgeous fiancée and see her with her head in her hands, wondering what she's gotten herself into. It's been an honour to be your best man Freddie. Thanks for having the job….I couldn't think of a better man to be best man for.

Now in case any of you are wondering why I asked Freddie to place his hand on top of Angelina's, I will tell you now. Freddie,…as my final role, it has been my pleasure that I've been able to give you the last five minutes in which you were ever able to have the upper hand over Angelina.

Please stand up and raise your glasses to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley!"

After all the speeches had been made they all celebrated until far into the night. At around half past two in the morning all the guests had left and the Weasleys and fiancées were sitting around the family table in the garden. His mum and dad had gone to bed about half an hour ago but the others had decided to stay out a little longer.

"So George…there was one thing I didn't quite get." Charlie said and looked at his little brother. "You said something in your speech about Gin giving her very best to Angelina or something like that." George saw Ginny and Angelina blush and glare at Hermione. "I can't believe you told him!" Angelina said and glared at her.

"Told her what?" Fred asked while Hermione buried her face in George's chest to hide her laughter, which didn't do any good since it caused George to start chuckling as well.

"It's not her fault Ang. She told me not to tell anyone but I she couldn't resist my charm."

"Yeah right.." Ron sneered, but everyone ignored him.

"She still told you!" Ginny said, not looking happy as well.

"Well I had to tell someone." Hermione mumbled into George's chest while George absently ran his fingers through her hair.

"And why DID you have to tell anyone at all?" Ginny asked?

Hermione finally looked up again.

"Because it was bloody hilarious!"

Bill chuckled. "BLOODY hilarious? Who are you and what have you done to Hermione?"

"I think she's been together with Fred and George too much." Charlie joked.

"Damn right she has." Ron mumbled but, again, everyone ignored him.

"So will someone tell me what you're all talking about?" Fred asked, looking from his wife to his twin who had pulled Hermione onto his lap.

"You know you should tell them eventually." Hermione said and looked at Ginny and Angelina. "They'll find out eventually. We all know Georgie won't be able to hide this forever. At least not from Fred."

They nodded reluctantly. "Go ahead."

Hermione turned towards Fred.

"Weeeellll Frederick….do you remember how you made George and me share a sweet a while ago?"

Fred grinned and nodded but his grin disappeared quickly when he figured out what Hermione was about to say.

"Oh no they didn't."

George and Hermione had equal grins on their faces. "Yes they did."

"They took the exact same one Hermione and I took."

Freds eyes widened but everyone else seemed unable to follow.

"Care to explain what you're talking about?" Isla asked and Charlie next to her nodded.

"Ginny and Angelina accidentally ate a sweet which caused them to feel ehm… physically attracted to each other." Hermione said, still hardly managing to keep herself from laughing.

She looked at Harry who'd turned a bright shade of red.

"Does that mean they….like you two did?" he stuttered.

"OF COURSE WE DIDN'T!" Ginny exclaimed and glared at George and Hermione. "We just kissed."

All her brothers stared at her with wide eyes. After a few minutes of silence Fred started laughing. "Oh my….this is just brilliant. The best wedding gift ever. Thanks Georgie…'Mione…"

Angelina hit him on the back of his head. "That's not funny Fred."

He just kept laughing. "It actually IS quite funny if you think about it." George said. "Think about it Ang. You guys would have never done anything if it wasn't for the sweets. And you just kissed, didn't you? You didn't have any real feelings for each other."

"I KNEW IT!" Ron exclaimed and everyone's head snapped towards him.

"I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG ABOUT THE TWO OF YOU MAKING OUT!" he pointed an accusing finger at George and Hermione. Apparently, all of his siblings had by now heard about the George-Hermione-Ron incident as they all visibly tensed up. The atmosphere had suddenly changed from funny to dead serious in seconds.

"Ron! Don't get started!" Harry's warned but Ron didn't seem to care.

"I knew you'd never make out like that!" he accused and smirked at Hermione and George. "And why would that be Ronald?" Hermione asked coolly.

"Yeah,…why don't you share with us why high and mighty Ronniekins has decided we couldn't do that. Pray tell…since you're so smart and haven't been wrong about anything in the past." George sneered at him.

Ron chuckled. "Well first of all….she's a bloody prude. Has always been, will always be. Second…" he chuckled again "…well why would YOU make out with HER?" he seemed to be unbothered when several of the people who hadn't been at the first incident shouted at him angrily. Percy looked at his little brother as if he'd just seen him for the first time and shook his head in disbelieve. "Ronald…think before you speak you don't mean this." he scolded him.

"Like hell he does! It's not the first time he's talking like this and it won't be the last time!" Ginny said and shot daggers at Ron.

But Ron just laughed. "Guys you're just delusional. It's obvious, isn't it? You've said it yourself. So why deny it? They…" he nodded towards George and Hermione who was kept firmly on his lap by George, probably so that he wouldn't attack his little brother again

"…took the same sweet Angelina and Ginny did and THAT caused them to make out. You said so…the sweet makes people think that they are attracted to the other person. It has nothing to do with real feelings. You said so about Angelina and Ginny."

George saw an evil grin form on his twins face. "As always you're only listening to what you want to hear Ronnie." Fred said and smirked. "He said that that was the case with Gin and Ang….not with him and 'Mione. You see…." he said and looked at his fingernails as if he was bored of the entire thing. "…the thing is that the sweet makes you attract to the other person…that's right…but if people don't like each other in….THAT way…. they'll simply share a kiss like our lovely ladies did."

"But why did George and Hermione make out like that then?" Ron asked, obviously not following.

"Exactly!" Fred said and George saw Bill, Charlie, Harry and even Percy grin. They obviously HAD been able to follow.

"Well Ronnie…" Fred continued "…that was the case if people were NOT attracted but if they DO have feelings for each other and if they ARE attracted to each other…the sweet just causes them to drop their walls and act on their feelings. And George and Hermione probably subconsciously thought that it was just the sweet that made them do it, so they fully acted on their…ehm…desires." he smirked at Ron who looked disgusted. George buried his face in Hermione's hair and chuckled.

"But…that's…that can't be…he…and…with her…I…I don't believe you. They seemed to be really embarrassed when we caught them. You aren't embarrassed when you like someone."

George saw Bill shake his head.

"Are you seriously that stupid Ron? What would you do if four people found you half naked making out?"

Charlie chuckled…"He wouldn't know now…would he?"

Ron blushed furiously. "You don't know what I do in my free-time."

Ginny laughed. "Yeah Ron…kissing Pigwidgeon again lately?" now even Harry chuckled.

Ron looked at his family and seemed to get more and more angry with every second that passed by.

"Just because I'm not a WHORE like other people doesn't mean there's nothing going on." he exclaimed and glared at Hermione.

Everything happened so fast in the next seconds that, later, nobody seemed to be able to say what exactly happened when.

George stood up so quickly that it would have caused Hermione to fall to the ground, had she not jumped up at the exact same time. She glared at Ron while George moved towards him shouting at him. Fred and Charlie rushed forwards and managed to hold him back before he could throw himself at his brother again.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALLING HER THAT EVER AGAIN OR I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT REAL PAIN MEANS YOU ASS!" It was a good thing that Charlie worked with dragons and that Fred had been a beater for years. Still, they barely managed to hold George back. "DON'T THINK YOU'LL EVER GET AWAY WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

Bill and Harry on the other hand were holding an angry Ron back who had jumped to his feet as well. "I CAN DO OR SAY WHAT THE HECK I WANT TO SAY!"

George practically threw daggers at him now. "YOU DON'T WANT TO MESS WITH ME RONNIEKINS! TRUST ME YOU HAVEN'T SEEN MY BAD SIDE YET AND IF YOU HURT HER ONE MORE TIME I SWEAR YOU WILL REGRET IT TIL THE END OF YOUR LIFE!"

Ron just laughed sarcastically. "OH YEAH RIGHT AS IF I'D BELIEVE THAT! I DON'T EVEN GET WHY YOU'RE FREEKING OUT LIKE THAT! I'M YOUR BROTHER FOR GODNESS SAKE AND WHAT'S SHE? SHE'S NOT EVEN WORTH IT!"

George nearly escaped Fred's grab but Charlie held him back. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU COULD HAVE HAD HER FOR YEARS BUT YOU DIDN'T BOTHER! SHE SURE AS HELL IS WORTH IT! MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER BE!"

Ron looked at him for a few second with a shocked look on his face. Then he started to laugh.

"Good joke George. You nearly got me there! Hah…for one second I actually thought you liked her…."

"I DON'T **LIKE** HER I BLOODY LOVE HER!" George barked and everyone fell silent.

"Did he just say he loves her?" Charlie half whispered to Fred who grinned and nodded.

Surprisingly, Ron seemed to snap out of the shock first. He looked at George and chuckled. "Poor George. She must have drugged you or something. She-"

George wanted to punch every centimetre of his brothers body. But he couldn't escape Fred's and Charlie's grabs. But before he could think of anything to do he saw Hermione hurry towards Ron and only seconds later found her wand pressed against Ron's throat. Her voice was ice cold. "Don't you ever dare to accuse me of doing something that disgusting. I LOVE George, got it? If he didn't like me that I would NEVER fore those feelings on him. Unlike other people I actually CARE about other people and LISTEN to them Ronald. I can't believe I ever dated you….I'm DISGUSTED that I ever liked you in that way. And I honestly don't know why I did. Maybe someone drugged ME! I'm going to tell you this once and you better listen to what I'm saying or you'll WISH that it was George who'd handled you. If you ever so much as speak badly of either George or me or do anything to sabotage our relationship you WILL pay for it. And, Ron, however dumb you are….you know perfectly well what that means. We've got bloody Death Eaters on the loose who'll probably want to kill you best mate and all you can think about is your hurt ego? I've been happier with George in two weeks than I've been with you in eight years and that's tough considering that I nearly died half a week ago. So do us all a favour and, for once in your life, SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

She turned around to walk away when Ron did something George never thought he would manage. He got even more stupid than ever before and murmured "she's bloody mad that one!".

Hermione quickly spun around and did something only one person had earned before. She punched Ron straight in the face.

Ron fell to the ground with a **thud** and everyone gaped at Hermione in shock and, in the twins case, awe.

George turned looked at his brothers. "Promise to remind me to never get on her bad side." They all nodded with mouths wide open, unable to say anything else.


	30. Chapter 30

_** Okay, … here we go: The first new chapter in about half a year. I'm going to delete the authors note so that the chapter numbers won't be mixed up.  
I would like to thank all of you who 'followed my call' and reviewed in order to tell me that I should continue the story. When I went to bed I said to myself 'If you're going to have six reviews in three days, you'll continue writing' … well let's just say that I woke up and had 24!  
So I'd like to thank: **_**Love Jane Eyre, Nobody'sDaughter, samagnus**_**(again thank you for the private message**_**),**** weecazza89, RDFitzy, bezbronna-przytulanka, tweets, fruityloopy, BellaMorgan1, PJHPSGfan**_**(yours really made me laugh xD**_**),**** bludy pingin, Scipio'sgirl, pixies114**_**(I can't believe you're still following this. Thank you **__** ),**_**sbolzzz, SecretNerdGal3.14159265, The Good Child, cupcakequeen13, Miny351, georgeweasleygirl27, vulpes22, Cat130, Monosyllabic Ms, jessismeh **_**and **_**HP fan not the sauce the book**_** for motivating me so much!**_

I've also been asked to post a quick recap in order for you to remember what happened. Here it is:

_After the war Ginny and Hermione went back to Hogwarts for their final year while Ron and Harry went into Auror training. Ginny and Harry resumed dating while Hermione and Ron started to.  
When they came back Hermione broke up with Ron and a Marriage Law came into effect pairing people like this:  
Angelina+Fred, Ginny+Harry, Hermione+George, Audrey+Percy, Charlie+Isla and Ron+Mary.  
While Ron kept acting like the biggest jerk on earth Hermione and George spend some time together, including a date. Hermione went on an assignment with five other witches and wizards in order to handle possible unregistered werewolves but walked into an ambush. Everyone but Hermione and her boss Dirk Cresswell were killed and Hermione was severely injured.  
She moved in with George while Fred and Angelina moved into the flat about them.  
Hermione had a fall out with her parents because her father told her to decide between them and the wizarding world. Hermione chose the later.  
Everyone was upset when Rabstan L., Rodolphus L. and Fenrir G. managed to escape from Askaban.  
Hermione and George told each other that they love each other and after the first wedding (which was Freds and Angelinas) Ron finally got what he deserved – he was punched by Hermione._

_**I think that those are the basics. If you still don't get it I'm afraid that you'll either have to reread the story or (as sad as it would be) stop reading it.  
I'm going to finish this with my favorite quote (from this story … and no I don't want to seem self-centered. I just really like it xD):  
**_**"But honey, you already HAVE found us; haven't you!"- She didn't know how many they were but one thing was sure; they were a hell of a lot more than four.**

**One fair warning: Reeeaaally emotional chapter ahead!**

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**Preview:**

"_I remember Bellatrix and Greyback moving towards where I was lying. He straddled my hips to keep me from moving too much. Not that I actually could after being under the Cruciatus for so long."_

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**Chapter 30**

Not too much later everyone went back to their respective homes. George directly apparated her into their flat. Hmmm… he liked the sound of that. 'Their' flat.  
She could have apparated by herself since he had keyed her into the wards earlier but she was still recovering. Therefore he didn't want her to use the last bit of strength she still had after such a long and exhausting day.  
When he opened his eyes he immediately steadied her against his side.  
"Are you alright?" he asked concerned.  
"Yes. Thank you. I guess it was just a little bit too much today, that's all."  
He nodded. "How about I take you to your room so that you can sleep?"  
"That would be nice, thank you George. I think I've already done enough wobbling with my leg today."  
He picked her up carefully and held her against his chest before carrying her into her bedroom.  
"Do you need help with anything else?" he asked and studied her gown uncertainly.  
He didn't want to pressure her into anything but it looked rather hard to get out of with just one arm.  
She seemed to read his thoughts.  
"I actually could use some help if you wouldn't mind. I'm still covered up like a mummy underneath them so it wouldn't be too bad."  
He chuckled lowly and Hermione blushed at once. "That's not what I meant … you know … I mean …"  
"No need to explain love I know what you meant. I told you we would take this as slowly as you wanted."  
He saw her shake her head. "No that's not it I just don't want you to see all the cuts and scars. I'm glad that they covered me up."  
George frowned and sat down next to her. "I thought you knew that I didn't care about scars. You're beautiful the way you are!"  
He wasn't sure if she believed him but she didn't start an argument with him so he thought it was okay. At least for now. He would work on her insecurities with time.  
He took her hand in his and caressed it softly.  
"You know speaking of scars … we never had that conversation."  
He heard her take a shaky breath. "You mean about the manor?"  
"Yes."  
She nodded. "I know. How about this, you get me out of this gown and into my sleeping things. Once you've put on yours we can get comfortable and I'll tell you everything."  
He nodded and went onto the task of changing her carefully. After making sure that she was settled into bed comfortably he quickly changed his clothes and slid into her bed.  
He smiled when she automatically snuggled against his side and carefully put an arm around her.  
"Like I said we were taken to the manor and when they found out who we were they took Harry, Ron and the others into the dungeons. We later found it was because of the _Sword of Gryffindor_ the Snatchers had found with us. Bellatrix wanted to question us and since I was, in her eyes, the least worthy of magic she chose me."  
George noticed that her voice had, once again, become distant and neutral but he didn't say anything. If it helped her with telling the story it was alright.  
"She asked me where we had gotten the sword from. She started throwing the _Cruciatus _at me over and over again until I couldn't take it anymore. It hurt so much. I knew I had to tell her something but, of course, I couldn't tell her the truth so I said that it wasn't the real sword.  
I think I lost consciousness for a few seconds there because when I woke up again they had brought Griphook upstairs to question him. He told her that the sword indeed was a replica although it of course wasn't. I later found out that Harry had begged him to lie to her."  
George looked at her and saw silent tears running down her face. He brushed them away, careful not to distract her from telling what had happened. Now that she had started …  
"When she found out that it was a replica she was so happy that she decided it was time to have some more fun with me." she said bitterly and Georges grip on her tightened on instinct.  
"She was apparently bored of throwing the _Cruciatus _at me and told Greyback that he should have a reward for capturing such a nice little mudblood for her to play with but that he would still have to share me with her." she shuddered.  
"I remember catching Dracos eyes when she said that. You could see that he was disgusted. Not with me but with his own aunt. Of course he didn't do anything. She would have killed or tortured him if he had. But you could tell that he wanted to."  
George didn't comment on that. The Weasleys and Malfoys had had a feud between their families for generations. Nobody even remembered why. In his opinion it was ridiculous. The fact that Lucius Malfoy had been a Death Eater had been a reason to hate him. But not a feud they didn't even know the reason for. Draco Malfoy had always been a spoiled git. But then again what could you expect from someone with a father like Lucius and an aunt like Bellatrix?  
He snapped out of his thoughts when Hermione continued in a soft voice.  
"I remember Bellatrix and Greyback moving towards where I was lying. He straddled my hips to keep me from moving too much. Not that I actually could after being under the _Cruciatus _for so long."  
George started stroking her hair with his right hand. If to calm her down or himself he wasn't sure.  
He had not lied when he had told her and Fred that he knew all the possibilities of what could have happened. But that didn't mean that the thought of that monster touching her didn't upset him.  
"To keep things short,… Bellatrix held my left arm down and started carving letters into it with a knife. Meanwhile Greyback started tearing my clothes apart." she shuddered again and George felt more tears running down her cheeks and soaking his shirt.  
He didn't know how to help her other than hold her and be the there for her.  
"It was disgusting. It still is. Sometimes I feel like I can still feel his hands on my skin groping and scratching me. Did you ever get too close to him? His breath is disgusting and his mouth …" she trailed of while starting to shake slightly. She was obviously still trying to keep check on her feelings.  
"Did he…" George cleared his voice. "…did he…you know…"  
"Rape me?" she asked bluntly.  
"Yes." It would make him love her any less. But it **would** change things.  
"No he didn't." George exhaled in relieve. It was still horrible and if he ever got his hands on Greyback he would pay for what he had put his fincée through but as hash as it sounded … it could have been worse.  
"Harry and Ron managed to rescue me with Dobbys help before he could manage to." Hermione continued. "Dobby took us out of the manor and to _Shell Cottage_ where Fleur healed me as good as she could." she hesitated before continuing.  
"I would understand if you wouldn't want to be with me anymore now." she whispered softly.  
George took her chin in his hand and made her look up at him.  
"'Mione I told you that I love you. I didn't just say that to make you feel good or for whatever reasons idiots lie about it. We've already been over this I know it is fast but that doesn't change the fact that I am utterly and irrevocably in love with you. I've always laughed about people who fell in love this quickly. I couldn't believe that it was possible before I met you. What happened to you is horrible. Don't think that I don't realize that, not for a second, but it doesn't change the way I feel about you. Quite the opposite. It proves what I've always known. That you're one of the strongest people I know. If **you** don't let this change things between us **I** sure as hell won't. I know you won't ever be able to forget this but it will get easier with time and I'd like to help you with that if you'd let me."  
Hermione stared up at him in half-shock before the biggest smile George had ever seen spread onto her face and before he could say knife he was pressed back into the mattress and kissed senseless.  
Once they were out of breath she broke off the kiss and smiled down at him shyly.  
"You know that I love you as well, right?"  
"Of course,…why wouldn't you?" he grinned up at her and made her laugh out loud.  
"I think I should start saying that less often. There's no need for that head of yours to get even bigger." Hermione said while running her hand through his hair lovingly.  
George leaned up to peck her lips and she yawned causing George to laugh softly.  
"I think it's time for you to sleep and me to get back to my bed."  
"No!" Hermione exclaimed before blushing at her outburst. "I mean … could you stay with me again?"  
George chuckled. "I'm starting to wonder why I even set up this bedroom for you if you won't let me sleep alone. Not that I mind staying with you at all."  
Hermione just snuggled back into his arms and George swished his wand to extinguish the candles.

* * *

Hermione was awoken by someone shaking her gently. She opened her eyes do see George looking down at her with a worried expression on his face. She looked towards the window and saw that the sun was just starting to shine. It couldn't be later than six am. "George? What's wrong?" she murmured, still half asleep.  
"Love, Kingsley and Harry are in the living room. They want to talk to you."  
Hermione felt fear building up in her at once. What could have happened?  
"Alright." she managed and sat up carefully. "Can you please get me my nightgown? It's in the wardrobe."  
George hurried to get it and helped her into it. When they walked into the living room she saw Harry and Kingsley sitting on one of the sofas. George helped her to the other and they sat down.  
She looked up at her best friend and immediately knew that something bad had happened. Something very bad.  
"Harry? What's going on?" she asked and saw Harry and Kingsley exchange a look and Kingsley nod.  
"'Mione I am so sorry but your parents home was attacked tonight."  
Hermione vaguely felt George put his arm around her waist.  
"Attacked? By whom?" she asked although she had the terrible feeling that she already knew the answer.  
Kingsley sighed deeply. "The Lestranges and Greyback and a few other we couldn't identify."  
Hermione nodded. "They're … they're dead aren't they? Tell me Harry!"  
Harry nodded and looked at his lap.  
Hermione was in shock. This wasn't supposed to happen. She had brought her parents to Australia in order to keep them safe. She brought them back because it WAS now supposed to be safe.  
She couldn't stop the small sob from escaping her throat. She had argued with her parents the last time she had seen them. She'd never be able to mend fences with them again.  
She vaguely noticed George thanking Kingsley and Harry for coming. They must have left because George pulled her into his lap and tilted her head up in order to be able to look at her.  
"'Mione love, please say something!"  
She sobbed again and tears escaped her eyes. "They're dead George. DEAD!"  
George sighed and tried to wipe the tears out of her face but they just kept running and running.  
"I know love."  
Hermione sniffed. "I mean I was never really close to them. Not since I was eleven and even before that they didn't understand me. You guys were more of a family for me than they ever were. But they were still my PARENTS! And we weren't even on friendly terms when I last saw them George. We argued and I can never make it right again."

* * *

Before George could say anything the door to their flat burst open and Fred and Angelina rushed into the room.  
When they saw George holding a crying Hermione in his arms they stopped in their tracks.  
Fred looked at his twin with a worried expression on his face and Angelina moved to kneel next to Hermione.  
"I'm so sorry Hermione." she said and George could see that there were tears in her eyes as well.  
"Is there anything we can do?" Fred asked and stepped up next to the sofa.  
George shook his head. "I don't think so Freddie."  
Hermione sniffed one more time and looked up at Fred. "George is right Fred, but thank you. You should enjoy the day with Angelina. You just got married I don't want to ruin the day for you."  
"You would Hermione." Angelina said softly and Fred nodded in confirmation.  
Hermione didn't reply anything and instead buried her face into Georges chest. He could soon feel tears soaking his shirt again.  
He looked up at his brother. "Thank you for coming to see us but I think it'd be better if we had some time alone for a while." Fred nodded and moved towards the door with Angelina who turned around once more before leaving.  
"If you need anything, just let us know!"

Once they had left George looked down at his fiancée and saw that she had fallen asleep against his chest. It just wasn't fair. She didn't deserve this. But then again … who ever said that the world was fair? Not George.  
He picked her up slowly and carried her back to her bed before getting inside as well and holding her in his arms. He would help her get through this. Just like the rest they would manage it together.

Fred and Lee managed the shop alone in the next week and since Hermione was still off-work because of her injuries they spent the time together, mostly inside of Hermiones bedroom.  
They talked a lot and she recovered from her physical wounds.  
She slowly started to cope with the death of her parents as well. It would obviously take her more than a few days before she would be 'over it' as they say and it would always be a sore spot for her but she knew that, difficulties and misunderstandings or not, her parents would never want her to keep her life on hold and drown in misery because of their death.  
On the next Friday, George accompanied Hermione to St. Mungos because the healers there wanted to take her bandages and casts off. She was once again happy that magic existed because without it she would have had to manage living with the casts for weeks, not days.  
She would still be a little sore for a few days but that was to be expected.  
On Saturday they went to Ginnys and Harrys wedding. Hermione acted as Ginnys maid of honor and had a hard time ignoring Ron who was Harrys best man. Ron was apparently still to shocked by being punched by her to say anything but he kept glaring at her through the whole ceremony which earned him a tongue-lashing from his mother and sister after the ceremony.  
During the week leading up to 'the Potter wedding' George stayed in Hermiones room every night.  
They didn't go beyond snogging because she wasn't ready for it yet, neither physically nor mentally but Hermione seemed unwilling to be alone in the first few days after her parents death and since George would never complain about sleeping with his love in his arms every night they got so used to it that it was not likely to change before their wedding in a week.

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_**Okay ... there it is. I hope you'll leave many many nice reviews for me xD  
Have a nice rest-sunday!**_

**Emjezz**_** xD**_


	31. Chapter 31

**Thank you, thank you, thank yooouuu for all the reviews!  
That's all I'll say for now ... I know you all want to read the next chapter :) Have fun:  
**

* * *

**Chapter 31**

On Monday morning George woke up from a delicious smell coming from the kitchen.  
He looked to his side and saw that Hermione had already left the bed. He stood up and walked into the kitchen where he found her standing in front of the stove. Plates, mugs and cutlery were already laid out on the small table.  
He silently walked up behind her, slung his arms around her waist and kissed her neck playfully.  
He felt Hermione tense for a second before relaxing and leaning back against him.  
"You're up early…" he mumbled while he lay his chin on her left shoulder.  
"No I'm not." she answered while flipping something in the pan. "I'm going back to work today, remember?"  
He did. He'd just successfully avoided thinking about it for the last few days.  
"When do you have to be there?"  
"At nine! When do you open the shop again? I completely forgot."  
"Ten." he studied the contents of the pan more closely. "What's that you're making?"  
"Crêpes. Have you never had any?"  
He shook his head. "No. They look like huge, thin pancakes."  
That made her laugh. "Yes I guess you could say that." she moved out of his arms and slid the crêpe on a plate that contained several.  
"You can take this and sit down I'm nearly ready." she said before handing him the plate.  
He sat down and watched her carry bowls containing various sorts of fruits to the table.  
"Not that I don't like it but what's with all the fruit?" her asked.  
"It's for the crêpes. You can actually put different things into them but it's usually either sweets of some sort or stuff I wouldn't like for breakfast like salad. I thought fruits were a good alternative."

George was digging into his second crêpe when they heard a loud POPP and Fred appeared right next to the table.  
"Morniiiiing." he said and took a seat in between his twin and future sister-in-law.  
He saw the crêpes in front of them and his eyes widened with curiosity. "What's that?"  
George explained it to him while acting as if it was common knowledge while Hermione silently laughed into her mug.  
"Do you want one?" she finally asked Fred and he nodded eagerly. "That'd be great. Didn't get a decent breakfast. Ang left for Wales yesterday. The team is actually staying there for a week but she got permission to leave for your wedding on Saturday."  
Hermione stood up and got him a plate. "I wonder what you did before you had any wives/fiancées around to cook for you. You must have starved."  
Fred chuckled. "We actually visited mum more often. Besides … he doesn't want anyone to know but George is actually quite the decent cook."  
George saw Hermiones eyes widen. "Why don't I know that?"  
He blushed a deep shade of red and Fred chuckled again. "He is kind of embarrassed about it because nobody in our family but mum can cook. Not even Gin. Come to think of it … It IS weird that he can cook but I can't." he shrugged and took another bite. "This is awesome Hermione."

When he'd finished he looked at his twin. "There was actually a reason for me coming down here. Did you read _The Prophet _yet?"  
George shook his head. "No I didn't, did you?" he asked, looking at Hermione who shook her head as well.  
"Why? Did something happen?"  
Fred nodded. "Yes. A ministry worker was found dead last night. Apparently he disappeared from his home on Wednesday night but since the _Magical Law Enforcement Squad_ can only act after three days, unless there is prove that something has happened, they didn't start searching until Saturday."  
"Who was it?" George asked.  
"Some guy called Bob Edgecombe."  
Hermione gasped. "I knew him! I mean … not KNEW him knew him but I met him once in my first week at the Ministry. He worked in the being division as well but he was only doing deskwork as far as I know. Why would someone kill him?"  
George shook his head. It just couldn't be a coincidence… "Maybe it has something to do with your case 'Mione. I mean we know that somehow you got misinformed. Maybe he had something to do with it or he found something out."  
"That's possible." she said. "I'll ask Harry about it if I see him today." she looked at her watch and frowned. "George would you mind cleaning this up? It's already quarter to nine…"  
"Sure." he got up and walked towards Hermione. "You're going to apparate straight there and back right?" he asked and took her hand in his.  
"Yes and if something else comes up I won't be alone, I promise."  
He watched her walk into her and come back with her purse minutes later. She gave him a kiss, said good bye to Fred and apparated out of the flat.

George was still staring at the spot she had apparated from when Fred spoke up.  
"What was that all about?"  
George frowned. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean what you talked about before she left. The apparating to work and right back…"  
"Ah… we talked to Harry on Saturday and he said that 'Mione shouldn't be alone outside of our flat."  
"Because of the Lestranges and Greyback." Fred more stated than asked.  
George nodded.  
"You know I didn't want to ask this before when Hermione was around but … Why did they attack her parents? Yes I get that they hate muggles and muggleborns but why HER?" Fred asked.  
George sighed and sat down again.  
"I don't know Freddie. I didn't tell anyone … but I'm worried about her. I mean … you're right. Why HER? All the reasons I can come up with are just … they all don't fit somehow. First I thought it was because she's muggleborn. But there are many muggleborns. Then I thought it was because she is Harrys best friend. But Ron is as well and we're an entire family of blood traitors and they didn't attack any of us. Also…they would attack Hermione to get to Harry. But they attacked her parents. The only person that REALLY effects is 'Mione. I think that proves that they are after 'Mione. Not Harry."  
Fred nodded. "That makes sense. Did you talk to Harry about it?"  
George shook his head. "Nope. I don't know if he came to the same conclusion I did and I didn't want to ruin his wedding. I did't talk to 'Mione because…well you saw her she finally got better I don't want to upset her so I talked to Bill."  
George had always been close to Bill. Of course not as close as to Fred but still … Bill was his big brother.  
Fred didn't seem to be upset about the fact that his twin had told their brother but not him.  
"What did he say?"  
"He said not to worry about it and that he would talk to Kingsley and dad about it. You could see that he was just trying to play things down so that I wouldn't freak out."  
Fred nodded again. "Okay … I'm sure they'll come up with something Georgie. But there is something else,…isn't there? A reason why you told Bill and not me."  
George looked at his twin with a guilty expression on his face. They always told each other everything.  
But before he could say anything his twin spoke up again.  
"I'm not mad at you Georgie. I know you must have had a good reason for not telling me. But I can't help you if you don't tell me."  
George nodded. "I only told Bill because he already knew … well most of it at least. But you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Not even Ang!"  
Fred nodded.  
"I think I know why they MIGHT be after her. Or at least I know of something that might have to do with it."  
Fred just listened without interrupting his twin. "You know with all the stuff that happened lately 'Mione finally told me what happened at the manor." George said and Freds eyes widened.  
"What happened?" he whispered.  
"She was tortured by Bellatrix and molested by Greyback." George managed to choke out.  
"Was she…"  
George shook his head. "No. Harry, Ron and Dobby rescued her in time."  
They sat in silence while Fred tried to come to terms with what he'd just heard.  
Finally … "so what do you think it has to do with that?"  
"I'm not sure it's just an assumption … I mean the Lestranges, besides Bellatrix, weren't even there but …"  
"- Greyback was." Fred finished.  
George nodded. "You've heard the same stories about him I have Freddie."  
"So you think he got sort of obsessed with her?" Fred asked and George nodded again.  
"I don't mean to bash them but you know what werewolves CAN be like. And Greyback is the worst of them. What if he … I don't know … "  
"… got a taste and wants more?" Fred asked bluntly.  
"Yes…" he shivered.  
"That's possible. Although I really don't hope so. A werewolf on the hunt …"  
"You think I don't know that?" George asked tensely.  
Fred looked at him, apologetic. "Sorry. But that still doesn't explain the Lestranges."  
"I know."  
"You told Billy-boy all of this?"  
"Yeah. He already know most of it since they escaped to _Shell Cottage_."  
"And he said he'd look into it?"  
George nodded again.  
"Then there is nothing else you can do about it right now. She's going to be all right. Let's just clean this mess up, get you ready and open the shop. You need to distract yourself,… otherwise you'll worry yourself until she comes home tonight."  
With that he stood up and pulled his twin up with him.

* * *

A few miles away, during lunch time, Hermione was sitting in the cafeteria with Harry.  
"So what's life as a married man like?" Hermione asked while taking a bite.  
Harry chuckled softly. "I like it. I guess it was weird living at Grimmauld Place alone … even after we completely renovated it … but since Ginny moved in it's different. Warmer."  
Hermione watched as her best friend blushed and couldn't stop a laugh escaping from her lips.  
"So are you feeling better?" Harry asked. "I'm sorry I couldn't come visit you more than twice but with all the work on the case and the wedding…" he started but Hermione shook her head and lay her hand on his.  
"It's okay Harry I understand. Besides … I wasn't alone. George was there all the time." now it was her who blushed.  
Harry nodded knowingly. "So how are you doing?"  
"It's okay I guess. Don't look at me like that. Of course I'm sad. I'll always be but I can hardly stay in my bed crying forever, can I?"  
"No I guess not."  
"They would want me to go on with my life Harry. And the fact that I don't cry every minute of the day doesn't mean that I forgot them, don't miss them or don't think about them. You do all those things and yet you don't talk about you're parents or cry all the time." she knew their cases were different because her parents had only died about a week ago but still … she had never been someone who bathed herself in self-pity ore kept stuck on things she couldn't change anyway.  
"You're right." Harry said.  
"So did you find anything out you can tell me about?" Hermione asked and Harry chuckled.  
"You know that I can't tell you anything about my ongoing cases 'Mione."  
"But I am PART of you're case,… I was there…." she tried.  
"I guess you could see it that way. Okay I really cannot tell you anything but if someone would come to his or her own conclusions I wouldn't be able to do anything about it …" he hinted and Hermione smiled brightly. She could work with that.  
"So…since I didn't read or hear anything about it I assume that you haven't caught any of the werewolves from the ambush…"  
He nodded.  
"… you've been following leads …"  
Nod.  
"… but so far unsuccessfully."  
Again, a nod.  
"You think that the case has something to do with the prison break …"  
Harry nodded.  
"… because of Greyback."  
Another nod.  
"You've also found out what the Lestranges involvement in the whole thing is …"  
He shook his head for the first time.  
"Ah … but you're working on that front as well."  
Nod.  
"The disappearance and death of Bob also has something to do with this."  
He nodded enthusiastically.  
Hermione thought for a minute. What could they have found out about Bob…  
"He was the one who gave us the wrong information…"  
Harry nodded.  
"… on purpose …"  
Nod.  
"Because he was one of them …"  
He shook his head 'no'.  
"But he worked for them …"  
Nod.  
"… freely …"  
He shook his head.  
For a minute she wondered about how awkward their conversation had to look from the outside. Then she continued.  
"He was forced …"  
Nod.  
"By the _Imperius_ …"  
Another nod.  
Hmmm… what to ask …. "… he was killed because you're investigations got too close to him …"  
He nodded.  
"So someone must have somehow known how your investigations were going …"  
She saw an angry expression forming on his face before he nodded again. Hmm … what else could she ask? Wait. There had to be a reason for them knowing that the Lestrange case was connected to the werewolf case. There was a spell that … yes that could be the only way.  
"… you know that the Lestranges are involved because you found out that the killing curse or eventual torture curses that had been used on Bob came from their wands …"  
Harry shook his head.  
What? She had been so sure that she had been right. She looked at Harry and was sure that there was more to it … that she was on the right way. He kept looking at her significantly.  
Hmm… the Lestranges weren't stupid. Evil? Yes. Mad? Probably. But stupid? No! There of course had been those Death Eaters that had just been doing the 'dirty work' for Voldemort but the inner circle had been a whole different story. It would be foolish to assume that being 'dark' goes hand in hand with stupidity and being 'light' with being intelligent.  
She knew the Lestranges had been in the inner circle so they had to have been smart…  
Suddenly she got an idea. What if …  
"… you found their magical aura on the corpse …"  
She saw Harrys face brighten up when he nodded.  
Well that had been rather smart of them. The aurors … not the Lestranges. Finding auras on people or things was a new 'invention' of the _Department of Mysteries_. It had just managed to get through the _Wizengamot _a few weeks ago.  
Hermione leaned back in her seat. That was a lot to take in. She'd have to tell George of what she had found out when she got home that night.  
"You know Kingsley has called an Order meeting for this week." Harry interrupted her thoughts.  
"When?" why had she not been told about this?  
"On Wednesday, 9pm, my place since the _Fidelius_ is still up." he explained.  
Hermione nodded. "I still can't believe that we still have to handle stuff like this. I mean before the war ended I always dreamed about what it would be like, you know…I never expected it to be like this. I thought we would finally have our peace … of course some things aren't that bad….still I feel kind of naïve."  
Harry smiled softly. "You mean the marriage law right?"  
Hermione nodded. "As much as I hate the concept of being **forced** into this … without it I would have never dated George. And I would have never fallen in love with him."  
"I'm happy for you, did I ever tell you that? I never thought Ron was right for you." Harry said.  
Hermione chuckled. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Did NOBODY like us being together?"  
"I don't think so…" Harry said before looking at his watch. "Damn it … it's already one? 'Mione you should stop talking so much." he laughed and stood up. "I'm sorry I have to go … I'm supposed to be in a meeting with Robards." he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and hurried away with a 'bye'.

Hermione slowly got up as well, her mind still on werewolves, convicts and fiancées.

* * *

Here it is .  
I know that there isn't much new happening here but there cannot be excitement in every chapter and since so many bad things happened in the last I think they should at least get some sort of explanation.  
When I wrote this I really regretted killing Tonks. I mean….at first I couldn't even remember IF I killed her and was like: "did I kill her? didn't I kill her? aaaaaagh I don't know." And now she's dead and I had to let Robards appear damn me …  
Also for those of you who might think that George is betraying Hermiones trust by telling his twin…:  
a) he IS his twin and they have always told each other everything  
b) nobody is perfect and I don't intend to write it that way

As always … review review revieeewww  
Emjezz xD


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